federal reserve. they have not said as a group what they would want. you are seeing some fed officials said it will not remove any of this until you see the unemployment rate dropped below 7%, that could be an important metric tuesday. host: that will do it for today's version of the "washington journal." we will see you back here tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. for "washington journal" with just three days left to the election tomorrow morning. we will take you live to the floor of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker.

the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. november 2, 2012. i hereby appoint the honorable frank r. wolf to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, john a. boehner, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, reverend steven willis, first baptist church in west virginia. the chaplain: let us pray. to the one who governs seas and quells the storms, we thank you for offering each life and granting hope in times of calamity. we come to you on the eve of this election seeking wisdom. for failing to take up the calls of the fatherless, we ask for mercy. for insufficiently defending the case of the widow, we humbly repent. teach us to fear you and keep your commandments. may we learn to do good, seek

justice, and rebuke those who would oppress your children. restore our rulers as at the first, and our judges as at the beginning. that we might be called a nation of righteousness, of faithful people. may we be redeemed by justice and those repent by righteousness. let the retched poor, pitiful, naked, and blind experience the transformation of your grace so that your name, o lord, might be exalted among the nations. amen. the speaker pro tempore: thank you, chaplain. pursuant to section 3-a of the house resolution 788, the journal of the last day's proceedings is approved. the chair will lead the house in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

pursuant to section 3-b of house resolution 788, the house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. on tuesday, november 6, 2012. >> the house will be coming back tuesday, election day, for another pro forma session. there will be coming back one week after that, the weekend after -- of november 13. u.s. employers have added 170 -- 171,000 jobs in october according to the labor department. hiring was stronger over the previous two months than first thought. the unemployment rate inched up from 7.8% to 7.9%. the economy added an average of 173,000 jobs per month since july. mitt romney issued a statement

that said the unemployment rate is a sad reminder the economy is a virtual standstill for the jobless rate is higher than it was when president obama took office. we will hilton -- we will hear more about the unemployment number from both campaigns today. they are on the campaign trail with four days to go into the elections. president obama has three stops in ohio. coming up in about 15 minutes here on c-span, we will take you to the first stop of the day in hilltard outside columbus. the first lady michelle obama is campaigning in virginia today. at 5:30 eastern, we will take you to petersburg where she will be speaking with supporters. tonight on c-span, mitt romney and paul brian will be joined by their wives for a rally in west chester, ohio. another big names are appearing including condoleezza rice and

senator john mccain this evening at 7:30 eastern and we will have that live on c-span. while we wait to hear from president obama in ohio, part of this morning's "washington journal," good morning to you. i want to assure you that 2012 battleground map we have been featuring for the last week or so here on the "washington journal." assuring the swing states in this election. this morning on the washington journal, we want to hear from the voters in the non-yellow states. everyone else in a blue, give us a call. we want to hear what you think about campaign 2012. our phone lines are open. we have already been getting a few comments on facebook. we want to start of christopher's from minnesota, he writes in, the electoral college needs to go away. john from maryland -- in other

non-swing state writes -- my view is that the media has made too much out of the debates and hasn't focused enough of its energy on the ground with actual voters and personal stories. and finally, my goal from massachusetts writes, since my vote will not matter, have put my energy into getting democratic support for president obama when he is reelected, elizabeth warren for senate. we want to hear from those in non-swing states this morning. the phone lines are open. as we are waiting for you to call, i will point to the front page of usa today. the headline -- four days to seal the deal. after a brief campaign hiatus' courtesy of hurricane sandy, president obama and mitt romney resumed campaigning. the candidate's weekend travel schedules made it clear where the election was likely to be decided. obama was slated to return to

ohio today. saturday, sunday and monday. he was set to appear in iowa, virginia, wisconsin, florida, new hampshire and colorado. romney was doubled to campaign in ohio, went -- wisconsin, new hampshire and virginia. statewide polls differ on who was ahead in colorado and i what it should obama with a single digit lead in nevada and wisconsin. eight of nine surveys are the past week and a crucial ohio give obama a narrow edge. and we will be focusing on a violator in today's "washington journal." and our swing state series. we want to hear from voters and not-swing states. we want to hear how the election is playing out how you are. and this from the baltimore sun, charging more the candidates will go in the next couple days.

ting where the candidates will go in the next couple days. again, the candidates focusing all of their attention in the days leading up to election day on as swing states. we will go to david and the kentucky on the democratic line. tell us a little bit about how the campaign is playing out in the kentucky, one of the non- swing states. caller: it is mostly just romney signs of here, not many obama signs. i think you will landslide ky. the polls show that. and i hate to say it, but even the preachers are preaching against obama and the pulpit.

host: are you motivated to got to the polls? caller: yes. i am going to vote, but i think romney will win it. host: are they talking about issues you care about in kentucky. do you think there are focused too much on the swing states? caller: there probably focused too much on the swing states. but you would be lost republican administration. it was just a mess. we were losing like 800,000 jobs a month. and now we are coming back. i just think the economy is getting a lot better now under a democratic administration. host: i appreciate the call from kentucky this morning. i want to point out another facebook post. this from justin from the upstate new york area. he writes -- at least i am not bombarded with a negative campaign ads while i am watching jeopardy. let us go to rwanda from

oklahoma on our line for republicans, how is the campaign playing out in a solidly red state of oklahoma? caller: yes, we are the reddest of the red states. everyone of our counties has gone to mitt romney, and i think we will do it again. what i am calling to about is something that you will never hear from mitt romney, that he does not talk about, that he does not solicit people to speak about, and that is about his incredible generosity. we have heard on television the people coming forward and speaking about the times that he has, without any publicity, that he has contributed to their welfare and so many different ways. he has set of hospital beds and spoke with teenagers, with a

teenager who was terminally ill. and he has gone to families that have been an accident. he has contributed to their medical care. and when he had his tax releases released, that showed that he was more generous than any of the other candidates, then obama himself. host: wanda, thank you. anyone else who wants to watch mitt romney, you can see him tonight on c-span. we will be airing his appearance and the romney-ryan tour in west chester, ohio at 7:30. you can catch up with about on c-span and c-span radio. i should note that obama will be holding a campaign rally in hillard, ohio at 10:20 this morning.

a contest that on c-span and c- span radio. the paper today focusing on those swing states as we know -- the tribune -- the washington bureau notes that florida is a renewed focus in this election, at this point with polls now a dead heat. romney campaigned in florida, returned wednesday for rallies and tampa, miami and jacksonville. he is expected over the weekend to go back. for obama, victory in florida is a prize. for romney, it is a necessity. debates about whether romney can carry ohio or other midwestern battleground states become moot without a win here, experts say. the "new york times" focuses on

pennsylvania and a story a -- and shift, romney a purchase pennsylvania with a new urgency. first there was quiet, then came the super pacs, not the candidate is on his way. in a striking last-minute shift, the romney campaign has decided to invest its most precious resource, the candidate's time in a serious way to win pennsylvania. mr. romney's appearance here on sunday could be a crafty political move to seriously undercut president obama, or could be a sign of desperation. either way is visit represents the biggest jolt yet in a state that has been recently largely ignored. in recent days, polls showing -obama's narrowing said. again, this morning we are talking about the non- battleground states. we will go to california, on our line for republicans, helen, you

are on. caller: good morning. i am a first-time caller. please do not cut me off. host: go ahead. caller: i will be so glad when this election is over. i was raised a republican. my whole entire life, never voted anything but republican. but i tell you what, anyone -- i switched this year, i was born to go independent, but i am going to go for barack obama. anyone that will vote for mitt romney has to be a 100% raist, or have a severe -- a 100% racist or have a severe mental problem. host: are you glad you are not subject to all of the presidential ads and mailings coming and to folks in ohio?

caller: i am so glad. and i watched c-span, and the comments that i hear from the people, it is so sad. why do they hate this black president? and one thing i want to make clear. i am not voting for obama because we are black. host: we lost you there. i want to point to the columbus dispatch. the headline is -- mailings a nuisance for ohioans. those of any swing states are saying it every day, calling the number of mailings and the ads a nuisance at this point. let us go to mississippi, cecila on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: yes. our state will go more than likely to romney. where the poorest people and the

nation, and this man is only for the very rich. i call him a very strong used car salesmen. he will tell you anything you want to hear. and he is going to tear this country up, just like he did those companies, and sought of two parts to china and anyone else. another thing, too, i am not surprised that evangelists are supporting them, because they have been riding a gravy train a long time. they get tax deductions -- they give tax deductions to give people that give money to them. to me it is a big welfare system and they do not want to see it end. and we have a country that is built on the middle class. this man does not care about the middle-class. he could care less. and that to me is what makes our country the greatest country in the world. and so, just like the president

says, i do not understand why people are falling for the sketchy deal. that is what he is offering. host: thank you for the call. i want to point out a tweet from john -- why isn't mass. a swing state? romney says he was a great governor. republicans can win the state. just ask scott brown. we will now go to oregon, on our line for republicans, ilene. from one of those non-swing states. good morning. caller: good morning. i thank you for c-span and all that you do for the election is wonderful. i am a republican but i did vote for gary johnson. i watched the debate on your channel. and i had not voted, and we vote by mail here -- had i not

devoted and we vote by mail, i probably would have voted for obama. i think he did a stellar job. with the correct name. i think you for your programming. host: are there issues you wish the candidates would address more but you think they are not because oregon is not considered a battleground state? caller: jobs of course. we are one of the poorest states. i volunteer at a food bank. i cannot believe how fast we have grown up. because of lack of employment. and it is sad, it is very, very sad. >> thank you for the call. we want to show you a clip of the governor romney yesterday in virginia. one of those swing states. yesterday he campaigned with majority leader eric cantor, a

congressman from virginia. we will show you a bit of that now. [video clip] >> leader cantor, when was the last time you met with the president on the economy or the budget? >> he says almost one year. let me tell you, for me to get the things done i just described, i am going to have to reach across the aisle and meet with good democrats that love america just like you love america. and there are good democrats like that. i will meet with the democrats and republican leaders. i will do it much more frequently. because we are going to have to work together. these are critical times. this is an election of consequence. host: in other ad about the campaign -- i am sorry, an article about the campaign spending late in the game. the headline from the "washington times" -- outsiders

turn on spending spigot full blast. outside political groups spend 90 million on ads. and in a single day on monday, the highest water mark in the history of political spending. super pacs and nonprofit political groups furiously unloaded the money that will have little value to them in just one week. and more about ad spending. i want to show you a clip from last evening. obama at a rally at the university of colorado, talking and that important swing state. a bit of that now. [video clip] >> we know what change looks like. [applause] we know what is going to help the middle class. [applause] we know what is going to grow jobs, reduce the deficit.

and let me tell you, what governor romney is offering eight it. it is not it. giving more power back to the biggest banks is not changed. leaving millions without health insurance, that is not changed. . a another $5 trillion tax cut that favors the wealthy, that is not change. [applause] refusing to answer questions about the details of your policies -- not change. rolling out a compromise by pledging the tea party's agenda, us. good luck to you.

guest: thank you. host: a want to point to an editorial in bloomberg. that cannot from michael bloomberg, the mayor of new york. he writes that he votes for president to lead on climate change. he says the climate is changing how the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in new york city may or may not be the result it should compel all elected leaders to take action. governor bloomberg rates we need leadership from the white house. president obama has taken major steps to reduce our current consumption, including higher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks. he notes that mitt romney, too, has a history of toppling climate change. he signed onto a regional cap and trade plan that would

reduce carbon emissions. he could not be more right, but since then he has reversed course, abandoning the very program he once supported. this issue is too important. we need leadership of the national level to move the world and nation forward. that is michael bloomberg endorsing president obama over the issue of climate change and the hurricane sandy fallout. lots of news stories coming from the fallout. the hurricane death toll has been rising. the hurricane sandy death toll now above the 90 and rising as emergency workers canvas flood and fire-ravaged neighborhoods. police say at least 59 people were killed during a storm in new york city and a new jersey. , and security secretary and fema deputy administrator richard will be in a staten island, new york today. we are talking about the

presidential battleground and non-swing states. we will go to john in saratoga springs, new york, on our line for independents. caller: good morning. i want to make three points. one is the electoral college cost to go. i mean, we have two parties but control everything. they divvy up the districts, now the states. and i mean, it has been four or five election cycles and pretty much know who the red and blue are. and they are spending billions of dollars on a seven or eight states or what ever to win. real democracy -- it should be one of vote for one person. and the bottom line is the winner. there should be more than two parties. we have to break up this party situation. there should be free, four, five people debating.

-- three, four, five people a debating. one a day he is for cap and is against it.he isn't agains he was for abortion and now he is against it. in new york, there is no way he is trying to win the votes of that way. we need to get rid of this system. we need more choices. host: republican line, new york, francesca. good morning. caller: good morning. my name is francesca. and want to let you know that in upstate new york, all of my family members, hispanic family members are supporting mitt romney. because he really knows how to make money. and right now, we have a lot of members of our family that have no jobs and looking for work

every day. host: are motivated are you to go to the polls in a state that is expected to go pretty heavily for obama? caller: we are growing as a whole group. we are going to stay. and we are going to vote for mitt romney. we are supporting him completely. and we were also posting the signs out in different areas in the upstate. we completely are supporting romney. i know that he will win. he will make a great president. host: francesca, thank you. we are talking to callers from non-swing states. phyllis from tennessee on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. i do not understand how some people are talking about mitt romney, what he is doing. he talks against trade.

but he is sending jobs overseas. he does not care about the middle class. we heard statements he made behind closed doors. he is against women having choices. he is against people going around trying to help people with fema. he wanted to get rid of that. america, please open your eyes. he will not let you use your library cards. god is looking at every one of us. republicans claim that they are so christian, but you should be more about helping our fellow man. host: today is a very big day on the jobs front. here is a headline -- the politics of jobs report #46,

there have been 45 monthly employment reports since obama was inaugurated. number 46 will be the biggest of them all. that jobs report comes out later this morning. we will have the numbers when they come out and will be discussing them and breaking them down and the last segment today. continuing to talk to voters and non-swing states. let us go to new jersey. k on our line new arar for republicans. caller: some problems here. but praised god that our power is working. it is a mass. -- a mess.

host: tell me about new jersey's the you on the presidential election. caller: george w. bush -- i worked with him from 2000 to to 2005. i changed to be an independent. and then i changed. but now obama -- he has too many good things going for him. he made some serious mistakes. but he has too many good things going for him. i will vote for him. if i can vote. our electionsx editorial and the "oklahoman." for the last 10 minutes we are focusing on voters and non-

battleground states. i want to point out a facebook post from ed -- i live in the non-battleground state of massachusetts. it will be my great pleasure on tuesday to cast a vote from deep within the balls of this hardly misguided state for romney-ryan and scott brown. cannot pull that lever soon or hard enough. we will go to a blue state. california on of the independent line. sam, go ahead. caller: yes, this is a referendum on the spiritual life of this country. this country claims to be christian, mormons do not believe that jesus was born from god, but that mary was impregnated by a man. mormons believe that the christian bible is a bible for

fools. and i want to remind the children of god that we know how this country is. host: take us through the religion to the election. guest: i will do that if you allow me to complete my comments. host: go ahead. caller: this country is based on so-called christianity. i will tell you this, if they choose mitt romney, who believed that jesus was not borne by the holy spirit -- host: we are going to save the religious lesson for another day. on the republican line, chris, your review on at the election

in the state of new york. caller: i feel very lonely as a republican in new york. i would like to make comments on michael bloomberg. you referred to him as governor bloomberg, he is the mayor. it is focused on climate change. mr. bloomberg is supposed to be a business expert. it says nothing about the future of this country under president obama's second administration. and something else about michael bloomberg. staten island is in ruins. one-third of manhattan is without power for five days. he will have the new york city marathon start in staten island and run throughout the five boroughs through the midst of

devastation. it is more than that, it is elitism. i appreciate your callers that call and with their religious and other beliefs. i am a political science guy. i have to tell you, michael bloomberg is an opportunist. you violated the new york city charter by running for a third term as mayor. we are in a very dire state here and i wish republicans run the country would offer us new york republicans help and an opportunity to really balance out the political system here. host: thank you for the call this morning. if a time for a few more calls. all weekend long we will be featuring the history and literary life of vermont capital city with a population of just about 8000 people. the smallest united states state capitol.

here is the mayor talking about the city. [video clip] >> it is the smallest state capital and america. in terms of vermont, we have the largest historic district in the state. it is a very historic community, founded in 1791. it is run to about 20,000 during the day. largely because of the jobs that are here, the center of commerce and the area. we are fortunate here that we are somewhat insulated from a lot of the trends that occurred nationally. our economy is pretty stable because we rely on the state as a primary source of jobs. our insurance companies do well. we have three large insurance companies headquartered here. we are relatively protected from the ebbs and flows of the national economy. we are a tourism based community. we have not seen much of a dip and that. our downtown buildings are almost all full.

a real testament to the strength of our downtown and the attraction for people that want to visit here. we have a very vibrant business community. but it is virtually all independent. they are responsible. but the city really does value the independent nature. we have three independent bookstores. we had a sycophant battle here years ago. we are the only state capital that does not have mcdonalds. they have a band together and made it very clear that was not the kind of business that we wanted. and that was the outcome. there's a real sense of independents, that is what you see here. and their value among the people who live here, if you shop locally. ntc that in the way people behave. host: all week long, book tv and

american history tv will take you to vermont as we explore the history of the smallest state capital. we are touring northeastern state capitals as we work with our cable partners in those cities. for more information go to c- span.org/localcontent. we have time for a few more calls. we are hearing from voters in a non-swing states on their view of the election, four days from election day. carol on our line for democrats, from missouri. caller: we have a democratic governor. and i believe that what makes this a red state is when you get down in the area like where rush limbaugh is from. down there. you have the real far right.

i have one question. who is the governor of new york? we have not heard from him at all? you see chris christie all the time? you do not see the governor of new york at all. host: we had a few stores and governor cuomo. but we can look for stories in this morning's paper. tell us how motivated you as a democrat are to go out to the polls and misery, and a state that is leaning pretty far to the republican column in the presidential race. is it to the senate race that will pull you out to the polls? caller: it is the president and senator. i really am a democrat die hard. i just cannot see any future with the republicans, what they are putting out there. host: carol from st. louis,

thank you. we will go from hphil on our lie for independents, south carolina. good morning. caller: good morning. i want to make a couple of statements about mitt romney. i cannot understand how people trust romney like they do. knowing that he is the kind of person he is, he lies about everything. he lies about every situation. i cannot understand the people who vote republican all the time, how they both republican all the time. they are going to suffer like the rest of us. ok. that is all i really wanted to say. host:phil from south carolina, saint here. before we let you go from the first segment -- i want to point out the headline from the "washington post." the rest to rescue on a voice in the libyan sea.

new information released from the cia. the cia rushed security operatives through american diplomatic compound in libya within 25 minutes of its coming under attack and play a more central role in the effort to send off tonight long siege that has been demolished publicly united states intelligence officials said this on thursday. you can read that story in a the "washington post." that benghazi attack playing >> we are live in hilliard, ohio outside of columbus at the fairground. the crowd as woody to hear from president obama in the first of his three stops in ohio. it was said to start 20 minutes ago but it is running a bit late. ohio is one of the key swing states. michelle obama will be in

virginia later today. she will be in petersburg and we will have that this afternoon at 5:25 eastern. mitt romney and paul ryan and their wives will be campaigning in west chester, ohio this evening at 7:30 eastern. we will have the president and once he arrives and get under way, in the meantime, a look at another swing state, virginia.

>> we have the director of the university of virginia political center. guest: the economy is foremost. we cover all 50 states here at the center for politics at the university of virginia. virginia has -- depends on defense to a greater degree than every other state except for alaska. we are second in per-capita defense expenditures. there's a special flavor on defense and special flavor on federal spending because governmental employment is so important not just in northern virginia which borders and washington d.c. but also in hampton roads and the

surrounding localities. host: water the demographics of the state of virginia? guest: as with most large population states, they are many states in one. you ignore the virginia which is about 1/3 of the state's population and produces at least 30% of the boat if not more. that has a low nativity rate. that population is national and international in scope. it is the highest income region. it has people with the highest educational level and the state on average. it tends to be the most democratic region. if you go down to tidewater and hampton roads, that is a heavy defense industry area. it is a white-collar and blue- collar and has a large african- american population. it also has a relatively low

nativity rape, people there were not necessarily born in virginia. the navy brings in many people from across the nation and the world. the richmond area as an urban area but it is probably the most conservative urban region in this area. it might be one of the most conservative and the country. it is a traditional area particularly because the west side of richmond -- the east side is heavily african-american and the west side is predominantly white and conservative and has a high negativity rate. some of the counties have become more diverse but by and large, it is also a conservative area. you can include far southwest virginia as a world unto itself.

it used to beat republican but mountain valley republican, more liberal republican and now -- and then went democratic and now it is very conservative republican in part because coal is a major part of the economy there. there is the south side of virginia on the north carolina border. the of those counties are african-american or 40% so or african-american. the piedmont which is this area of charlottesville is a mixed area. by and large, you break virginia down into urban, suburban, ex- urban and rural is under 20%. the most important swing areas are the ex-urban localities like loudoun county and prince william county in northern virginia. probably the richmond area,

chesapeake, suffolk, va. beach and the tidewater area are conservative. host: you look at the map of voting in 2008 and 2004 for the state of virginia, you can see a lot of red. the president won the state of virginia by six percentage points in 2008, winning the northern virginia area around washington, d.c. it looks like the one around charlottesville, virginia as well and a couple of counties in the tidewater region. compared to 2004 when george w. bush won the state, you can see that president bush won more of the tidewater region than did john mccain in 2008. if you were president obama and you were mitt romney, where would you focus your resources? guest: you can tell by way --

where they are visiting. mitt romney spent a lot of time in the richmond area. he needs a big vote out of those localities some of which voted for president obama and others are very conservative like chesterfield county went as high as 45% for president obama in 2008. there is no way for a republican to win statewide. they are both campaigning in northern virginia. that is a linchpin for president obama. he needs to do well in the ex- urban areas like prince william county which has become very diverse and loudoun county which is less diverse but still important in the swing areas as well as fairfax which has 1.4 million people just in one county. the blue areas are small but, as you know, trees and rocks and acres of don't of votes. host: what kind of voting

systems are used in virginia? guest: the computerized systems are used almost everywhere. we have eliminated paper ballots only as a backup. we don't have the lever machines and more. i am a native virginia and my first votes were cast that way. they are long gone and now you have a computerized machines almost everywhere in one form or another. host: some of the demographics of the state -- guest:" is live ever -- "washington journal" live every day and we'll take you live to hilliard, ohio and president obama.

[applause] [applause] >> hello, ohio. o-h. o-h. it's good to be back. can everybody give julia a big round of applause? judy is an example of the incredible volunteers involved in this campaign each and every day, knocking on doors and making phone calls. i love all of you and am grateful to all of you for all your great work. [applause]

get -- give up for your former governor and our great friend ted strickland. [applause] quartet as a cold and is backstage. . poor ted has got a call but he is backstage and he is still out campaigning. i love you back. [applause] you know - [applause] i can tell it as a rowdy crowd. [applause] all right, all right, all right. [fouro more years]

[four more years] >> thank you. for the past few days, all of us have been focused on one of the worst storms in our lifetimes. i just got off the farm -- off the phone with my emergency management team and got an update on what is happening in new jersey and new york and connecticut, west virginia where there is a whole lot of snow. as a nation, we mourn those who were lost. you can only imagine what so many families are going through right now. the message i have sent every time i talk to people back east is we stand with the people of new york and new jersey and connecticut every step of the way. [applause] there is a lot of work that still remains to be done.

we've also been inspired these last few days by the heroes running into buildings and waiting for water and neighbors helping neighbors cope with tragedy, the leaders of different parties working together to fix what is broken. [applause] it is a spirit that says no matter how bad the storm is, no matter how tough times are, we are all in this together. [applause] we rise or fall as one nation and one people. that spirit is what has guided this country for more than two centuries, the idea that we are in this together. [applause] it has carried us through the trials and tribulations of the last 200 + years but also the last four years. in 2008, we were in the middle of two wars and the worst economic crisis since the great depression and today, our

businesses raided nearly 5.5 million new jobs and this morning we learned that companies hire more workers in october than at any time in the last eight months. [applause] the american auto industry is back on top. [applause] home values and housing construction is on the rise. we are less dependent on foreign oil than any time in the last 20 years because of service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform, the war in iraq is over. the war in afghanistan is ending. al qaeda has been decimated and osama bin laden is dead. we have made rope progress. [applause] -- we have made real progress.

this guy had a lot of coffee this morning. you are fired up. okay. [applause] call by second -- we have made real progress but we are here today because we know we've got more work to do. as long as there is a single american who wants a job and cannot find one, as long as their families working hard but falling behind, as long as there is a child anywhere in this country whose language bars them from opportunity, our fight goes on. we've got more work to do. [applause] our fight goes on because this nation cannot succeed without a thriving middle class. it is because america has always done best when everybody has a

fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and everybody is playing by the same rules. that is what we believe and that's why you elected me in 2008 and that is why i am running for a second term as president of the united states of america. [applause] [four more years] in four days, you have a choice to make -- by the way, i think it may have noticed that everybody is paying a lot of attention to ohio. [applause] rightfully so. this is a choice not just between two candidates or two parties, it is a choice between two fundamentally different visions of america. it's a choice between going back to the top down policies

that christ our economy or adapting the kind of policies that will make sure we've got a strong and growing middle-class. [applause] that is the choice. as americans, we honor the dreamers and the rest takers and entrepreneurs and small-business people. they are the folks who have been the driving force behind our free enterprise system. it has been the greatest engine of prosperity but also believe in this country. that people succeed and start businesses and work well in businesses when they got a decent education, when they get a chance to learn new skills, when we support research in medical breakthroughs or new technology. we think america is stronger when we can count on affordable health care and medicare and social security. , where there are rules to protect our kids from toxic

dumping and mercury poisoning. we think the market works better when consumers are protected from unscrupulous practices in the credit-card industry or from mortgage lenders and we believe that no politician in washington should control health care choices that women can make for themselves. [applause] for 80 years, we had a president who shared our beliefs and his name was bill clinton. [applause] his economic plan passed the wealthiest americans to pay a little more so we could reduce our deficit and invest in our future. at the time, the republican congress and a senate candidate by the name of mitt romney said this would hurt the economy and kill jobs. it turns out that his judgment was just as bad back then as it is today. [applause]

by the end of president clinton + second term, america created 23 million new jobs and incomes were up in poverty was down and we had the biggest surplus in our history instead of a deficit. we know the ideas we believe in work. we know of their ideas don't work. [applause] for most of the last decade, we tried what they want to do, giving big tax cuts to the wealthy that we could not afford. getting insurance companies and oil companies and wall street free rein to do whatever they pleased. you know what we got? falling incomes, record deficits, the poorest job growth in half a century and an economic crisis that we have been cleaning up after for the past four years. [applause] so, we know what we want to do works. we know what they want to do does not work. we know what we want to grow our

middle-class and what they want to do squeezes the middle class. we know that our strategy will make sure we bring our deficit down in a balanced way and their strategy will shoot to the deficit up. we know what the right choice is but let's face it, governor romney is a talented salesman. in this campaign, he has tried to -- as hard as he can to repackage the same policies and offer them up as change. but we know what change looks like. what the governor is offering ain't it. giving more power back to the biggest banks is not change. another $5 trillion tax cut that favors the wealthy is not change. refusing to answer questions about the details of your policy until after the election, that's

not change. we have seen that before. we have seen that before. [applause] ruling out compromised by rubber stamping the tea party agenda in congress is not change. by the way, when you try to change the facts because they are inconvenient for your campaign, that is definitely not change. [applause] trying to massage the fed, that is not change. that's just -- [applause] we have been seeing this out of governor romney and his friends or the last two weeks right here in ohio. at to got folks who work be gm plant calling their

employers worried asking if it is true that our jobs are being shipped to china. governor romney has been running an ad that says so. except that it's not true. everybody knows it's not true. it the companies themselves have told them they are cutting jobs. creating jobs in america should be a point of partisan pride in what sh-- and i could not agree more. romney has had a tough time in ohio because he was against saving the automobile industry. saying "lead detroit go bankrupt." this is not a game.

these are people's jobs. these are people's lives. these car companies are putting a lot of effort into making great products but also making sure that everyone in america knows how committed they are to making cars here in america. you do not scare hard-working americans just to scare up some votes. that's not what being president is all about. that's not leadership. when i first made the decision to rescue the automobile industry, i knew it was not popular. one out of eight jobs in ohio are connected to the automobile industry in some way and this was not even popular in ohio, but i knew it was the right thing to do. betting on america's workers was

the right thing to do. betting on american ingenuity was the right thing to do. that bet paid off where gm is investing in their auto plants. it paid off in toledo where chrysler is adding 1000 new jobs on a second shift, not in china but right here in ohio i hope when you talk to your friends and neighbors and they're trying to make up their mind in these last few days, think about that. think about the issue of trust. do you want a president is going to tell you what he believes and what he thinks? or someone was going to change the facts? after four years as president, you know me.

you may not agree with every decision i have made, you may be frustrated sometimes with the pace of change, but you know what i believe in. you know where i stand. you know i tell the truth. you know i will fight for you and your family every single day as long as i know how. you know about. [applause] -- you know that. [applause] and you know that i know what real change looks like because i have fought for real change. you have helped me every step of the way. after all we have been through together, we cannot give up on a real change now. changes a country where americans of every age of the skills and education needed to get a good job. when i hear folks say hiring

more teachers what help this economy grow, they are wrong. if we have a great teachers and classrooms, that's going help our kids a and help our economy. [applause] they tell me the students who cannot afford college should just borrow more from their parents. i was not an option for me. it was not an option for a lot of you. i want to cut tuition in half over the next 10 years. i want to recruit 100,000 math and science teachers or kids do not fall behind the rest of the world. i want to train 2 million americans with the skills businesses are looking for right now. that's what we're fighting for in this election. that's what real changes. change comes when we live up to

this country's legacy. we are not just building cars again, we are building better cars, innovative cars, cars by the next decade ago twice as far on 1 gallon of gas. here in ohio, it's not just cars we're starting to manufacture a gun but long-lasting batteries, wind turbines all across ohioan and the country. -- again but batteries and turbines. we need to keep investing in research. i do not want to subsidize all oil companies when they're making money hand over fist but supporting the energy jobs of tomorrow, the new technology that will help cut our oil imports in half. i did not want to reward those companies for creating those jobs overseas but those were creating jobs in manufacturing right here in the united states of america.

that's my plan. that's what real changes. [applause] -- that's what real change is. change is turning the page on a decade of war so we can do nation-building at home. as long as i am commander in chief, we will continue to have the strongest military the nation has ever known but it is time to wind down the award to pay down our debt and rebuild america. we need to build bridges and schools all across the ohio and all across america and especially focus on putting our veterans back to work as they come home. [applause] we need to serve them as well as they have served us. no one who fights of this country should have to fight for a job when they come home. [applause] that's what is at stake in this

election. that is my commitment. change is a future where we reduce our deficit but do it in a balanced, responsible way. i have already signed $1 trillion worth of spending cuts. we also have to ask the wealthiest americans to go back to the rates that they paid when bill clinton was in office. more, governorng romney is not paying more, then the choice is to start cutting out the help for young people trying to go to school. it is to hurt those who are vulnerable and those who depend on the things like medicaid. as long as i'm president, i will never turn it into a voucher just to pay for another millionaire's tax cut. [applause] i'm not going to make it more expensive for some young person

working hard trying to go to school. i'm not going to make them pay more just so i get a tax break. to cut out a research grant so some outstanding young scientist to good of the next discovery -- who could have the next great discoveries for cancer just so i can have more. that's not change. we know what the future requires. back in 2008, i told some of you that i was not just talking about changing presidents or political parties in washington. i said if we're going to talk about real change, it is changing how politics works. i ran because the voices of the american people have been shot out of our democracy for way too long by lobbyists, special

interests, politicians who will do whatever it takes to keep things just the way that they are. over the last four years, the status quo in washington has held up every step of the way spending millions trying to stop us from requirement -- reforming the health-care system, spending millions to try to keep us from reforming wall street, engineering a strategy by refusing to compromise on ideas that most democrats and republicans in the past have supported. what they're counting on now was that he will be so worn down by all the squabbling, so worn down by all the dysfunction that he was to give up, walk away, and put them back into power. in other words, there bet is on cynicism. my bet is on you. [applause] my fight is for your .

-- my fight is for you. if the other party wants to be with me in that fight, i will work with them. there were republicans and help us repeal do not ask, do not tell. when they are about broadening opportunity in the middle class, we can work together, but as long as i'm president i will work with anybody of any party to move this country forward. i will work with anyone, but i'm not just going to cut a deal to kick students of all financial aid or gets rid of funding for planned parenthood or let's insurance companies discriminate against people with pre-existing conditions or eliminates health care for millions of medicaid for poor, elderly, disabled.

that is the price of peace, then i will not pay the price. that is not by partisanship. that's not change. that is the same status quo that has hurt the middle class and all those families trying to get into the middle class for way too long. ohio, i'm not ready to give up on the fight. i'm not ready to give up on the fight to make sure that the middle class is growing. i'm not ready to give up on the fight to make sure that every child has an opportunity. i hope you are not either, ohio. [applause] you know, the folks at the very top of this country do not need another champion in washington. they already influence. the people who need a champion of the americans whose letters i relayed at night, the men and women i meet on the campaign

trail every day, the laid off workers who was gone back to community college to retrain for the jobs of the future. she needs a chance. a business need and want to expand after the banks turned him down. he needs a chance. the cooks, the waiters, the cleaning staff at a hotel trying to build their first home and send their kids to college, they need a chance. the autoworkers who have lost their jobs on the shore of the plant would ever reopen and are now back in those plants and have the dignity of pride in doing a great job done. the kids in inner cities in the valleys of ohio and right here in hilliard the dream about being scientists come on to burners, even president. they need a champion in washington. -- scientists, inventories, even

the president. it is the dreams of those children that will be are saving grace. it is the dreams of those children that move us forward. that is what we have to champion. that is why i need you, ohio, to make sure their voices are heard, to make sure your voices are heard. we have gone too far to turn back now. we have gone too far. it's time to keep pushing forward. let's get all of our kids and create new jobs, rebuild our infrastructure, discover new sources of energy, opportunity, help our middle-class. let's make sure that no matter who you are or where you come from, you can make it in america. that's what we're trying to do. [applause]

ohio, i'm asking for your vote. [applause] if you're willing to work with me again and make some phone calls for me, turn out for me, grab your friends, neighbors, co-workers, we will win ohio. we will win this election. will reaffirm the bonds that brought us together. we will reaffirm the spirit that makes the united states of america the greatest nation on earth. thank you, everybody. god bless you. god bless america. [applause] ♪ ooh baby here i am signed, sealed, delivered, i'm yours ♪ ♪

[applause] ooh baby here i am signed, sealed, delivered i'm yours ♪ [applause] ♪ ♪

♪ only in america we dream in red, white and blue only in america where we dream as big as we want to we all get a chance everybody take a hand only in america ♪

>> president obama wrapping up his stock at the franklin county fairgrounds just outside columbus in hilliard.

will wrap up the day in and that the northwestern part of the state. -- in the northwestern part of the state.

>> the first appearance in ohio for the day for president obama. two more to come and lots more global coverage to come. the associated press is reporting 22 million people have already early voted in ohio. -- 1.3 million of them in ohio. 30% democrats, 24% republicans. here is what the road to the white house coverage looks like for the rest of the day. michelle obama is at virginia state university live at 5:25 eastern and then back to ohio later with mitt romney, paul

ryan's, and their wives. they will have former secretary of state condoleezza rice and former senator and presidential candidate john mccain at the rally in west chester, ohio, at 7:30 p.m. coming up in a few minutes, we are expecting an update on hurricane sandy from fema. in the meantime, new jersey rep lobiondo on how things are in his district. >> frank lobiondo represents a currency itself new jersey. i want to get a sense in your district in how it is today. how bad is it in southern new jersey? guest: new jersey has been hit

very hard. i have the lower third of the state, the second congressional district. we have a lot of damage. the atlantic is sending casinos are still down and there is a ban on residents returning to atlantic's city. some of the other barrier islands have allowed residents to return. the storm has caused infrastructure problems with the water and sewer. there're a lot of people out of electricity and it's getting pretty cold that night. i was able to go up with the coastguard on a helicopter tour. we have it from the delaware memorial bridge down into the delaware bay and there's tremendous damage. i was on the ground yesterday. one small community, more the

and 20 homes in the bay, just terrible destruction and a massive clean-up where they will have to come in because there are still waters with two or 3 feet deep. there is not as much structural damage, but many of the homes and businesses had two, three, four feet of water and in some cases say on the. host: you met with president obama when he was out there earlier this week. what did he tell you? guest: the president and promised he was going to make sure we cut through the red tape, and that is extremely important west. gov. christie declared an emergency a few days before the storm hit. president obama signed a declaration that was a critical first step. sometimes the bureaucracy moves very slowly and the people on

the ground who need help do not get it as soon as they should. the president the republic plea to the whole nation and here in my district, he has the director of fema with him, mr. fugate, and he directed them that there was to be no nonsense. they gave us telephone number to call if there were any problems going on and we have our fingers crossed. some of the counties are still doing assessments. the bayfront communities did their assessment yesterday and i expect have an emergency declaration from them. we are trying to slowly get back to normal. host: will there be enough funding to cover the damages? what do you think will happen in terms of what you, as a member of congress, will have to return for the lame-duck session here

coming up? guest: that's a question i'm getting frequently and we do not know exactly because we do not know the total related to this storm. some people think it will be second only to katrina and there will be tens of billions of dollars involved in the recovery effort. we know we're working on a continuing resolution that will run until april 1st. whether that will be enough or not, it remains to be seen in. every time there is a disaster on the west coast, an earthquake, a flood, a tornado, we always pull together and do it has to be done. i did not expect new jersey will be treated any differently. i know my colleagues in surrounding states were very hard hit. i have been in contact with both democrats and republicans. we will join together and do what is necessary. we do not know the numbers are

right now so it is no point to speculate. host:. you for joining us this morning. >> among the delegation that went with president obama on the tour of damage in new jersey. we're waiting to take you live for the latest update from fema their reporting the department of homeland security is temporarily waiving some maritime rules to allow foreign oil tankers from the gulf of mexico to enter northeast and ports. it jury -- janet of soliton as saying today that they are waving the jones act which prohibits international cargo ships from transporting until november 13th. it is being done to hopefully ease some of the fuel and gasoline problems and shortages that have been having in the new york-new jersey area. we're waiting my duty to to the

briefing. we also heard from another new jersey congressman from the six the district this morning. host: i want to bring in another new jersey congressman. thank you for joining us as you go ahead with the recovery efforts there in new jersey. our last caller brought up some concerns about being able to vote on tuesday after the damage from the storm. will that be a problem in new jersey? guest: it may be a problem in the sense of people being able to access it polling place. every authority, whether it is the governor or the county, the county clerk, they have all assured us that there will be places to vote, but if we have places to vote that are significantly distanced from where people traditionally do vote -- unavailable >> in the c-span video library. we are going live to the

briefing. >> they were prohibited to allow them to come in and provide additional product. that is in addition to work that is being done with the u.s. department of energy, dod, and our mental protection agency and other key members to increase the availability of refined products, getting pipelines back

to deliveries, and increasing capabilities by the storm. the efforts continue. this waiver does allow ships that would otherwise have to bring refined products to new york and add a product. with that, i want to go to additional activities. the disaster assistance website is a mobile-friendly website and we continue to see more people that are getting assistance that way. we have added several counties yesterday in new jersey and we will continue to add in those requests as they come in from the states. 1-800-621-fema and

disasterassistance.gov funding is continued to be made available and when we talk about those dollars, this is money that has been direct posited. as the numbers keep going up, they are not dollars that are just approved. with that, in turn it over to charlie with the red cross. >> we want to give you an update on the particular activities in new york and new jersey. i want to would knowledge that i know this is a frustrating time of the people who have been affected by this storm and we want everyone to know we're doing everything possible to provide aid and comfort to thousands and we have had people in place since before the storm

made landfall. i do not want to, in any way, diminish the impact of those in other states. the red cross has a large relief operations in new york and new jersey as we learn about what the neighborhoods are that have a need. as power comes back on, awareness is increasing in terms of the areas of need and we're putting plans in place to provide people with food, water, relief supplies, and comfort. a massive feeding effort is underway on long island to help those in patent by the storms. more than 30 vehicles are providing water, meals, and snacks. we have fixed feeding sites in long island location such as nasa and supple. -- nassau and sussex. clean , brooklyn, long island nassau,

and we will not bore you with all the communities we are in, but we have more than 40 shelters open across new york. we have five mobile kitchens who are deployed to the state which cancer and 73,000 meals per day with additional capacity en route. we have shipped more than 3000 ready to eat meals including 200,000 kosher meals. upin, we're opening emergency aid stations that will also provide mental help. we have trailers pulled cleanup supplies as well. in new jersey, 30 shelters in the garden state, four kitchens are deployed and we have shipped 350,000 ready to eat meals and we are standing up kitchens to continue to mobilize. more than 80 response vehicles are in new jersey right now.

the shoulders are open across many, many states. we had roughly 100 red cross shelters in nine states, new jersey, new york, connecticut, maryland, west virginia, delaware. this is a very big job and we will be added for weeks. we have deployed 12 mobile kitchens and we have already served nearly 215,000 meals so far and that number is escalating. we have evacuated more than 240 response vehicles that are active on scene and we have deployed our entire fleet of response vehicles from across the entire united states for this. currently, there are roughly 4000 disaster workers from all over the country that are on scene with thousands more enroute as well from nearby states. we are mobilizing community volunteers and our health and mental service workers are

deployed and have already helped more than by thousand people. we're working hard to get the help where it's needed. as communities are identified needing additional support, we are mobilizing quickly to move into those areas boswell. i conclude my report and stand ready to answer questions. >> if you would like to ask a question, please press * 1 and record your name clearly when prompted. once again, * 1 to ask a question. one moment. >> there is just going to be one question per reporter, please. thank you. >> eric clapton was "the new york times." >> mr. fugate, can you go through what the government is trying to do to increase gasoline supply in more detail? >> he basically have three

pieces to this. the raw product and the refined products, getting more of that in. you are aware that because of the clean-air standards, different fuels in different areas, you have to have certain types of fuel because of the clean-air standards. epa has taken all the refined products from the surrounding area and have given a waiver for using fuel that can also burn as the sole. those waivers free up and make our product available so there are no restrictions on any clean air emission requirements and that will expand out. they are currently looking as far south as baltimore and other areas to free up more products to go out there. the second thing is getting more ships coming in to bring in more fuel and refined product as well as work being done to get power back to the colonial pipeline and some of the refineries to get more product flowing that way. some of this is going on now.

we hope to get some additional capability there. just getting the product there does not get it to the retail side. we are also working to supply and make sure we have supply going to the retail sector. many of the gas stations do not have power. they're looking at what additional things could be done to get power rather it is privatizing getting full backup to those will be a reopening are looking at emergency power supplies for those who will not get power back. we are providing to the defense logistics agency emergency fuel supplies and trying to set up with the state and local governments where they need additional refueling capability as well as getting shipments for emergency generators for fuel. we are focusing on getting more product available, a better distribution, and looking at how we can increase capacity in the

retail sector to get more gasoline out there. >> reuters. >> hello. mr. fugate, i'm wondering if fema is handling this response more efficiently? many commentators seem to think if they are. i'm wondering if you can say where there was a turning point where the agency started doing a better job in recent years of responding to disasters? a lot of people seem to think it is because you have prepositioned more supplies. i don't know if that's the main reason. i would like to know what you think would be the main reason. and when the turning point was in the change. >> you want to talk about something and i'm trying to focus on getting stuff to survivors. to be brief from this one, he

were trying to make sure we had a team is linking with the state and local partners that i think, again, the lessons we have learned from past disasters is not to wait and see how bad it is before the disaster declarations. i realize i can never get to everyone as fast as i want to get there and sometimes my frustration are for the survivors, the customers, who tell us what the needs are. the fact that the president was able to make that declaration, particularly for individual assistance, it meant when the wind was still blowing in the area, assistance was being made available. that is the primary way we will be able to help people long term. there's a lot of focus on the power outages and i'm more concerned by the people who are dealing with not only a loss of power but their homes have been destroyed and we need to make sure we have rental assistance and long-term housing. that may be a good follow-up

story, but i want to focus on the people still needing focus -- needing help. >> the associated press. >> can you talk about the capacity in terms of how many ships that we may be dealing with here in waiving the jones act? >> it is allowing more foreign- flagged ships to come in and deliver fuel. i would like to defer that to the secretary's team and coastguard on how many of those vessels will be available. we have an ongoing conference call right now with the u.s. department of energy and some of the major suppliers looking at how many ships are out there to potentially come in. i would have to defer that to dhs and the coast guard on what that means. we're working with energy arm will potentially can be diverted

to new york. >> next question, please. >> new york one news. >> governor cuomo just announced that the man and the state will be sending in-- fema and the state will be moving in to handle private insurance and providing information on housing programs. do you have any specifics on where they're going to go and a timetable so we can pass that on to our viewers? >> i don't. we have the request into the government last night. we also have teams that have already been on the ground and are getting in the area and getting to those areas that have not been reached yet. it's easy for people who can see the news or have cable, listen to the radio, have a working cellphone or phone to call 800- 621-fema, but it is the ones to

of yet to have that kind of communication, of staten island is a good example. information is as far as you can walk him as far as you can see. we need to get the teams out there to answer questions, make sure that people are getting registered, and we are getting in the financial assistance, everything from rental assistance if they need a place to stay while they make repairs or any of the immediate losses that they have. in what we have heard back from the governor's office is those teams are deployed and we will make sure you have bottom formation. >> next question please. >> the philadelphia enquirer. >> what are the most current numbers you have on how many applications for assistance have been received and how much money has been paid out?

>> i will tell you what. we have the last numbers we will get and i will read those out. i want to make sure i've got the right ones on the amount of registration and the actual dollars. it goes up every hour and we keep getting updates. >> next question. >> david with the associated press. >> i'm wondering if you can give any specifics on the situation in terms of the fuel deliveries? there has been a lot of talk in new jersey about a decrease in the deliveries and shipments, for obvious reasons, but i'm wondering if you can go into specifics in the damage, the pipelines, if there is damage, water in them, anything like that? >> i cannot go into a lot of detail. in general, we are working as a team. colonial pipeline anticipates to get the pipeline back of using

backup power. a lot of this was just getting the backup power but they are also assessing any damage and limiting factors there. the pipeline is one of the two primary ways you get refined products in that area is, we are also looking at additional capacity to bring in while they get back out. we will see more information, but i would refer you back to the epa on some of this as well as we're working as a team to get as much of as we can. >> next question. >> could you comment on reports that our crews from other states, non-union, were turned away in places like new jersey where they were expected to join the union in order to work on power restoration? >> i would defer that back to the states and the locals.

we have been sending teams up there. it's not fema. we have just been facilitating the teams. utilities are working to get as many crews in the area as they can. i would defer back to state and local for any of the worker issues. >> next question, please. >> i have the numbers. i know they are going up. currently, as of 11:00 a.m., the newest members we have, we have 85,072 who have registered in the system in the areas that have been declared. the total individual assistance, both for rental assistance and other forms of assistance in the program dispersed is $18 million $815,347. -- $18,815,347.

as people register and the inspections are completed, they get the money. if they do not have a checking account, we can get them a check. we are able to do direct posit. in some cases, this is rental assistance for several weeks or so depending on what the needs are. i think this is important. when we talk about rental assistance, we note this may be a short time for some people but some people whose houses have been damaged or destroyed, they may need extensive help. this assistance, particularly on rental come a can go up to 18 months while people are looking for their longer-term housing solutions. >> thank you. let's return to the questions. >> the connecticut mirror. >> you have a breakdown of the $18 million and how to divide up against the states? i'm interested in connecticut's

share. when did the request for proposals go up for contracts for some of the work that needs to be done? >> fema public affairs will get out a fact sheet. we have that information by state and we can break that down for you there. as far as contracts for assistance, all contracts right now are be doing -- are being done for state and local primarily for debris removal mission that are being started down the other response activities. until we get stabilized, meaning that we have the immediate needs met and power, fuel, and other things to a point where the majority of the community's needs are being met, we are prepared to support states and locals assessing the other damages at which point there

will be additional work to be done to repair and rebuild damaged and destroyed government facilities. >> thank you. next question. >> club the new york post." >> i have a question for the red cross. s.i. was very critical of the red cross and discouraging people from participating. i'm wondering if you to ed respond to the borough presidents. if you could just very briefly go over what you're doing in new york specifically? it was hard to keep up before. >> sorry if i talk too fast. i'm over-calf unaided. i'm glad you brought up the issue with the borough president in staten island. we have been in direct contact with him. we appreciate his reaching out to make sure that we are aware of what the concerns were.

we service delivery and the plan was to be delivering in staten island, as is the case in many of the impacted areas. when he was holding his press conference, the materials were rolling. we're working under the same circumstances in terms of road access, fuel, and so on. and polling paperwork in terms of the mobile feeding operations in staten island. we have mobile operations throughout the island already under way and we will be continuing bathroom out. i just happened to catch the comments he made on cnn last night. he was very grateful to the tennis feeding vehicles he had seen just after his press conference. -- the 10 vehicles. we appreciate any out reached to let people know what we are working on in staten island. we are in tottenville, hugenot,

and we are all over there. we're continuing to build on that. again, a quick summary. in new york, a massive feeding effort under way on long island with fixed feeding sites in nassau and sussex with more coming. s.i., queens, brooklyn, the bronx, manhattan, and the two on long island. 40 shelters, but i think you are most concerned with beating capacity. we have already shipped 307,000 meals into new york. for new jersey, we also have 30 shelters open in the garden state and we have four mobile kitchens that are capable of 80,000 meals per day with another 350,000 ready-to-eat meals already there. both cases include kosher meals.

there are disturbing food as well. we are stealing of the full resources of our feeding capabilities in all of the impacted states. >> it looks like we have time for two more questions. >> npr. >> sorry about that. mr. fugate, on the story today about the generators, are you having trouble matching the generators that you have with the needs? how many have you deployed up to now? >> i will have to throw that back to the corps because they have been doing the installs and inspections. they will know how many have been installed and how many have done the assessments for. that's a moving target. i read -- i refer you to the u.s. army corps of engineers.

>> last question. >> administrator fugate? good. i was not sure if i was on. can you talk about the flood insurance program and if it has started to kick in? are you finding that many people, watching the hard hit people in new jersey and new york, do you find that they even have flood insurance? >> it's going to be mixed. where you have never construction, particularly where people have federally-backed mortgages, they have to have the flood insurance. it's mandatory. so newer construction or federally backed mortgages, you have flood insurance. a lot of people who flooded did not have insurance. that, again, was one of the determining factors of the president to make the decision to turn all individual assistance without waiting. we had a pretty good idea that there were going to be a lot of

people in there who did not have insurance. that's one of the primary factors we look out when we provide federal grants from fema, the lack of insurance. we have two things going and we have a lot of properties with mortgages that did have flood insurance, but because of the program the way it is set up, you have the assurance for the building but you also have additional policies for content. a lot of times, they only get the part that is mandatory which is the structure itself. even if you have flood insurance, you may not get fema assistance. we are working to make sure. we need to monitor the response times to the claims process when people are calling in with the delivery of the inspections are and how bad is flowing. this will be one of those areas

that as soon as we get to build and repair they can start their recovery. we also understand that it may not be a complete solution. we know a lot of people who flooded did not have any insurance whatsoever. we have to look at both the temporary housing -- this will require substantial recovery efforts. fema does not provide all the assistance to fully rebuild. it is $30,000 that we provide. we work very closely with our other we will begin the longer-term recovery programs in the next days as we continue to focus on the immediate needs. >> thank you, everyone for joining us today. if you could help individuals impacted by the disaster to go

to the website, thank you. >> this concludes today's conference call. you may disconnect at this time. >> administrator fugate and a homeland security secretary janet napolitano will be visiting the disaster area today. she waved some maritime rules which will relieve some of a fuel shortage problems they are having in the new york and new jersey area. in about one hour, we will take you live to the national press club in washington to hear from penn state university president rodney erickson who will talk about the future of penn state one day after the former president of penn state was criminally charged with covering up reports that former assistant coach jerry sandusky had abused young boys on campus. we'll hear from president

erickson at 1:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span and our road to a wider is covers later today -- michelle obama is in petersburg, va. at 5:25 eastern. tonight, mitt romney and paul ryan are joined by their wives and the campaign trail in ohio and at the rally this evening, you will hear from john mccain and former secretary of state condoleezza rice tonight at 7:30 eastern. cspan continues to bring you house, senate, and governors debates around the country heading into tuesday's election. we will take two hours a negative senate debate between republican congressman jeff flake and richard carmona. the two men are vying for the position left by the retirement of john kyl. this is about one hour.

>> hello, i'm from colorado river public media. welcome to the u.s. senate carries on rural issues debate from the campus of hours on the western college in yuma, arizona. we will hear from the democratic and republican candidates for united states senate. we will begin with 90-second opening statements in canada it will take questions from a panel of local journalists on issues related to life outside the state's metropolitan areas. each candidate will have 90 seconds to respond to each question and 30 seconds of rebuttal time. the dates will have 90 seconds for a closing statement. we have an additional four minutes should the moderator or panelists ask a follow-up. on our panel today is kcey anna chalk, joyce loback, michelle

faust. we have over 300 residents from the southwestern arizona area and they have agreed to respect the candidates and listened silently during the debate. lettuce and gentlemen, please up help me welcome our candidates for the united states senate. [applause] [applause] thank you both for coming to you much for this debate but to get started with opening statements. we flipped a car and going first as andcarmnna. >> a pleasure to be with you here today. thank you for the opportunity to

be with you and welcoming us. i am not a politician or do i aspire to become a chronic politician. when asked to run by my fellow doctors, soldiers, and others to work with, my first response was sure, i will run as far away from washington as i can because i know how broken it is having been there as surgeon general of the united states. when i realize that is the reason i need to step up and run again because of my grandmother and my mother were still alive, they would be disappointed if i did not accept responsibility. this is my first campaign and series of debates. i'm still learning the process. i'm running because i have benefited from the american infrastructure. i experienced hunter, homeless, dropped out of high school and the only thing before me was uncertainty. i was able to become a yawn -- united states army's special officer got a ged, was lucky

enough to get into a junior college that had an open enrollment program for combat veterans. i used my g8 bill to become a doctor, a cop, a professor, and become surgeon general of the united states. i am running to insure that all kids can attend the american dream just as i did. thank you. ." congressman flake. >> i thank all of you. i appreciate the opportunity. two weeks ago, my wife and i received a wonderful call from our oldest son informing us that we were grandparents for the first time. jeffrey flake was born into a wonderful family and the greatest country of the world but he was also born into $50,000 of debt. that is his share of the federal debt, the $16 trillion federal debt that all of us collectively

hold. that is a transcendent issue of our time. this generational theft to put that kind of burden on kids and grandkids. we need somebody for the senate who is willing to stand up to either party whoever is in charge against this overspending. that has been my record in the house, that is the record i plan to take to the senate, that is why the state's largest newspaper endorsed my candidacy. they know i will stand up. we are here today debating arizona issues. that is important, because this seat is currently held by senator kyl. all of these things are important. we need to make sure that whoever has this seat understands them and will advocate for them. thank you for having me here. >> let's begin the questions portion of the debate. the first question is to congressman flake.

>> thank you for being here. we are going to begin with water allocation. water allocation has not been legislated by the federal government in more than 50 years. since that time populations of states sharing rights to the colorado river have changed drastically. arizona uses 99% of its allocation and have promised more water to two reservations in the northern part of the state. what do you plan to do to ensure the water rights are protected while minimizing the environmental effect? >> that is an important question for the state. senator kyl has been the one that has negotiated a lot of the allocation that we have. the allocation is always going to be an issue. that is why it is important to have people in the senate who understand the issue and are

willing to advocate for the state. sitting to our west as california with a 53-member delegation. you have to fight hard and make sure that our water does not go there. ours is just 11. also, here in yuma there are concerns it will be allocated in the state. urban areas will get water that is intended here. i promised to you and to everybody here is to ensure that we make sure allocation comes here and elsewhere. water is the lifeblood of arizona. we have to make sure it remains and we have allocations' reflected by both population and also agriculture and some of the traditional uses in arizona.

q for the question. >> that is a great question to start on because congressman flake and i do agree on issues, like water, we want to make sure we do not seize water to anyone else and somebody stands up to fight for the water supply. the potential for contaminating water and putting 23 million people at risk to use the water every day. there is no monetary benefit to the state when we do that because of the laws of mining, we will not be able to get anything there. i am surprised you would risk putting 25 million people at risk by potentially contaminating their water. we know this is true. i am concerned you would jeopardize 25 million people and the water here by really aggressively trying to move legislation to allow uranium mining. it is not just me.

the arizona republic, the arizona daily star, the sun said your actions were shameless and irresponsible. i think that is something you need to deal with. >> i am concerned that my opponent does not seem to understand arizona geography. we are talking about mining in the arizona strip, not the grand canyon. i am trying to protect the bipartisan agreement called the arizona wilderness act that was negotiated by barry goldwater on one side, the sierra club on one side, the chamber of commerce on the other, that protected the grand canyon and also recognize we would need economic activity in the arizona strip. that is what i am trying to protect. geography. apparently, there is a difference of opinion. we are talking about aquifer.

the watershed area that extends far beyond the canyon. it will contaminate aquifer that brings water down. i was very careful to say, this is grand canyon watershed risk. 25 million people rely on it and the watershed to provide water for the area as well as california and other areas. >> we are going to get a quick look at a lot of topics now. the next question. >> yuma county has the highest unemployment in the nation month after month with 25% or 30% of its work force looking for jobs. what ideas do you have for improving the economy and creating jobs, in particular for rural areas?

would this be a top priority for you? >> it is a top priority for me. first and foremost, we have to do something about reforming the tax structure. small businesses are taxed at 35%. that is not sustainable in this environment today. we have to change the loopholes at the top. big companies like ge and others pay no taxes and small companies pay up to 35%. we need to make it fair to everybody. first and foremost, we have to create an environment that our small businesses can thrive. when we look at the uniqueness on the border that is different and the tax reform or the nation, we need immigration reform. as i travel the border and i meet with agricultural people, we have a work force problem because the immigration system and the visa system is broken. these problems trade an impediment to congress. we have to be able to provide a

-- these problems create an impediment to congress meant -- an impediment to commerce. we are not able to do that because of the impediments that are there by not having an effective comprehensive immigration policy. that becomes an economic issue as well. the workers here who want to work, there is not enough of them. the workers who come across the border to take care of the ranches and agricultural industry, they can i get back and forth like they want to. the ranchers are telling us every day, we desperately need immigration solved because it is and economic problem. thank you. here. unemployment around the country is at an unacceptable level of around 8%. it has remained so for about 43 months until a row with this administration and the democratically controlled senate. in yuma, it is 25% or 30%. we have to have certainty on tax rates moving ahead.

it is the certainty of regulation that is really stifling. we have a federal agencies whether environmental, health care regulation, labor regulation, financial regulation, it is all consuming. then one of the biggest job killers out there is the health care plan. i just spoke to a small business this morning from yuma. he has 44 employees. he is planning on hiring four more and that is all. do you know why? if he gets to 50 employees, then he starts getting fined for not providing health care insurance that the president and others think he ought to provide. that means fewer jobs. he said, i will simply pay overtime and make them work saturdays. i cannot hit 50. you have seen the same thing happening with small businesses and franchisees. they are moving people from

full-time to part-time because they do not want to hit the threshold. that is a huge job killer. we have to repeal it. that is a commitment i will make you. when i get to the senate, i will plan. my opponent will not. >> first and foremost, i think you can see the partisanship by which congressman flake comes to the issue. it is always blaming the other side. that is the problem we have with congress. congress is not working because it is full of people that cannot have a rational discussion. we are spending 18% of our gdp on health care. when i look at the health care plan before us, i have been critical of it as well. the congressman's plan is to rescind it and we still have 50 million people without insurance. we will have more people coming into the market. it will be transferred to all of you. he will pick up the cost for people who do not have insurance. that is not a plan.

the public will be shouldering the burden and the doctors and hospitals will pick up more uncompensated care. that does not work as a plan. >> we have to repeal the president's health care plan. the president promised when this was past that it would lower premiums by $2,500 per family. it has raised premiums by about $2,500 per family. what is in the future, not just for those who pay premiums but also the taxpayers at the state level, the problems our state has had with the budget will be multiplied. we cannot go in that direction. we desperately need health care reform. we cannot go the direction of the president's health care plan. >> should you be elected, would you be willing to put the weight of your office behind finding out what the causes are and the

solutions to the high unemployment in here in yuma county? >> i want to finish the issue of health care because it plays into unemployment as well. congressman flake's plan is not really a plan. whether it is a voucher, we the people are still going to shoulder the burden. hospitals and doctors will get more uncompensated care. both parties have gotten it wrong. they're not addressing the cost of care. the cost of care comes from 75 cents of every dollar spent on chronic diseases, most of which are preventable. >> some question to you, would you be willing to put the weight of your office behind finding the causes and solutions to unemployment here in yuma county? the word traditional has been applied. it is not a compliment. >> some of the issues has to

deal with the issue raised here with regard to being near the border. being susceptible to national trends when it comes to unemployment and the economy. we need some things desperately here like a commuter plan that will make it easier for labor to come across in the daytime and back at night. that is not allowed easily in our system. one thing we have to avoid is a sequestration that is looming at the end of the year. that will hurt our military readiness. for an area like yuma that relies on the defense industry, it would be devastating. we have to make sure we look at that issue. with the health care plan, that means fewer jobs, not more. that is what we have to look at. the uncertainty on taxes and the certainty of regulation.

>> let's move on to our next question that comes from michelle. >> access to healthcare in rural arizona can be difficult. many problems include a lack of health care providers, state and federal funding cuts, access, and the loss of facilities when patients cannot pay, there is further financial loss to the institution. our local hospital lost $40 million this year alone from unpaid treatments that contributed to the layoffs of 135 employees. do you have a plan to help improve the health services available to patients in rural arizona? we have unique and logistical financial challenges. >> i grew up in snowflake. i know the issues. i know the difficulty my parents had at times to find doctors medicare.

that is going to become exacerbated as we go forward with the president's health care plan as well. let me take another issue you mentioned. you really feel the uncompensated care here on the border. i have toward the hospital here and i knowi know the issues that are faced with federal rules where you are required to treat anybody that comes, that means unless the federal government reimburses, the hospital has to do it and the taxpayers here. that is not fair. that is why we in the congress have worked hard to make sure hospital funding, reimbursements are there. it is something yuma cannot control. the burden is a federal responsibility. -- the border is a federal responsibility but the costs are borne by the local community. we need a plan to deal with that, but it has to start with the federal government doing

what it has to do if they impose mandates. the mandates need to be funded. with the federal health-care plan, it will exacerbate the problem we have access to doctors in rural areas. >> the congressman said he has come down to the border and visited a hospital. i have worked here for over one quarter of a century. i have been a police officer on the border working with the border patrol. i have been a registered nurse. my whole life has been about caring for others. these are issues i do not have to visit, i have lived them every single day of my life right up to the cabinet level in dealing with this. i know the issues along the border and how difficult they are. this is not about getting more doctors, we have to revamp the health-care system. the congressman is stuck on a sound bite from his party that

you have to rescind the affordable health care act. governor romney himself said, there is some good stuff in here. kids covered to 26, that is good. if your kids are like mine, you want them covered to 26. we look at our seniors and the doughnut hole. even governor romney said we should retain these. the aca has good things in it, but it needs a better business plan. we have to recognize it is not all about doctors. this is a multidisciplinary team that needs to be put into the community to deal with doctors, nurses. we have to reform the system to one that promotes optical care. simply doing what the congressman wants to rescind aca, we will incur a whole lot of debt and more problems because people will continue to get sick.

>> i have worked with him. -- with this community. i am proud to have his support. if i was not down here working the issues, i would not have his support. i have the support of the democratic share. i am proud to have his support. with regard to the hospitals again and patient care and access to doctors, whether we like it or not, the president's health care plan is an impediment to better access. >> the congressman thinks by rescinding the plan this will correct the problem. both parties have gotten it wrong. they are not addressing the issues that are germane to the rising costs of health care. is killing small businesses and making it difficult for people to get insurance. we need a new system.

we need to address the variables health care. rescinding this does not do it. the congressman mentions he has endorsements. i am a police officer half of my life. most of the police associations as well as the national association of police organizations which i was chosen as a national top cop, they have endorsed me as well. that is not what we are talking about. problems. >> the amount of money the state spends on each student in arizona is around $1,300. that is the second lowest. nearly half of all students who attend rural schools live in poverty. funding for schools is tied to property-tax is which means schools in rural areas will

continually get less money. how do you plan to legislate the education budget to ensure students in low income areas are funded more fairly? >> i am a product of a community college. i could not get into college because i was a high-school dropout coming back from combat. somebody had the wisdom to say, let's give these kids an opportunity. i had a gi bill to give me some money so i could get educated. i know the value of community colleges. i know what they bring to the community. we have to restructure how we invest at enter our communities. -- in our communities. we have so many problems with unemployment, small business is struggling. we need an economic base that can allow the schools to thrive. comprehensive tax reform is the way we have to start. we have to create incentives within the communities of people that are innovators want to come here.

this is a beautiful state. when people want to hire people that generates the higher tax base, they ask, how about your school system? it is not doing so well. system? how about the arts, theatre, extracurricular? we need to build an infrastructure of opportunity that makes this the most attractive place in the nation to stay. we could be the solar capital of the world. right now we need coal. coal is 30% of where the energy is coming from. we can actually do a lot of things. all of the solar panels we have out here. this is where we are going in the long run. there's things we can do to generate more revenue to support our community colleges. >> thank you. k-12 education is a function of state government and the federal government, ungratefully.

the federal government provides a% of the funding that goes into local schools. with that 8% comes 70% of the mandates and stipulations and paperwork that tied the hands of local schools, teachers, administrators. with regards to what the federal government should do, your question is very relevant with low risk pools. rural schools are having the problem, what is the future like the navajo station or the coronado power plant which the epa is trying to shut down. if you want to affect local schools, and allow the epa to move ahead and impose restrictions that will force the power plants to shut down. it is devastation in a local community. we have seen that happen in my home town of snowflake. we have a paper mill that shutdown that would still be up and running and helping us manage the forest, but it cannot anymore because the epa

has taken us out completely. that devastates the community. we have to make sure economic development can come. there is a large impediment federal agencies. arizona is 85% publicly owned. it matters what the federal government imposes on local communities. >> congressman flake and i agree on some things. i do not agree as he does that we should abolish the department of education, nor that we should abolish the epa. who does not want clean water and air? congress regulates those agencies. he has been there a in office for a dozen years. the only have the authorities bestowed on them by congress. arizona is different. we cannot regulate dust, this is arizona.

it is congress that has the ability to hold them accountable. >> you are right, that is congress's role. for the past three and a half years, we have been unable to exercise that role. the senate under harry reid's control has not passed a budget. we do not go through regular order passing appropriations bills one by one. when you do go through regular order, it allows me to work with democrats to actually ran the agencies. when the senate will not pass a budget, we cannot do that here we lose our power. change leadership. >> the next question for congressman flake. >> both of you have touched on the subject of my next question, but i would like to go into it in more depth. in yuma county, farmers have

advocated for a worker guest program that would allow people who live in mexico to cross the border each morning to work in yuma's fields and return home at night. is fixing the guest worker program something you support, and what features to you consider critical? -- would you consider critical? >> we do need to revamp it. we need a better h2a program, but let's stick to agricultural programs now. do not have a program robust enough to take care of the needs we have now. otherwise, we will be shipping jobs to mexico or elsewhere. here and in the imperial valley in california, they are saying we do not have the work force, and i believe them. here in yuma, the h2a program

is ill suited because a lot of people living in mexico can come and work and then return home. the program requires housing and transportation be required by the employer. that does not make sense. we need a computer program that allows people to come here and move back. -- a commuter program. that is why the farm bureau has not supported the ag worker bill that is a pretty good fix for the h2a but does not address the commuter program. my commitment is to work on the issues in a way that will give access to labor that we need to keep the jobs here in america and not ship them elsewhere. >> again, congressman flake and i agree a lot of the policies and procedures are antiquated. this question lends itself to one of my earlier answers. we need comprehensive immigration reform. the border needs to be secure,

there is no question about it. we cannot let it be an impediment to progress since so many jobs require it. we are in agreement on those issues. again, the congressman has been there one dozen years. whether it is the epa and blaming the democrats on the other side because they did not regulate appropriately and only the republicans will have the right answer does not make sense. the system is broken. both sides are getting it wrong because each side digs their heels in and we do not get anything done. whether immigration reform, or specifics of a visa moving across the border, we have to start solving problems. that is why people are fed up. that is why congress's ratings are as low as they have ever been. people want the problems solved. that is not happening. >> outlining the problem is correct, but i can tell you my

record in congress has been one to reach across the aisle. i have worked on a comprehensive immigration reform. i have worked with senator kennedy. we try to get comprehensive reform through. unfortunately, we cannot give the trust level until we have a secure border. on other issues as well, i have been able to pass more floor amendments than any of my democrat or republican colleagues over the past four years because i work with the other side. that is what we need a center of the senate. >> the congressman talks about his bipartisanship. the fact is, that is not true. he votes with his party more than michele bachman does. his words were, congressman flake abandon me on immigration. when it was convenient to was with me, when he wanted to be a senator, he left. i think it is disingenuous. to be a congressman, you have

to show up at work. if you look at 12 years of his attendance in committees and subcommittees, it got 1300 that are listed, he has missed 800 of them. if any of us had missed two- fired. >> my opponent has brought this true. it is completely not true in terms of the attendance record, i think he is trying to cover out. dr. carmona did not vote in the 2010 elections in the general or the primary. if you are going to ask for people's votes, it helps to have a voted in the last election. that is not true. i can tell you, i do work across the aisle. when the president proposed immigration reform, he will not propose a temporary or guest worker plan.

it is not comprehensive anymore for the president. >> the next question is for dr. carmona. >> the border between arizona and mexico is host to six ports of entry. officers are charged with preventing the movement of prohibit commercial products, pets, illegal migrants, drugs, weapons, and potential threats to national security. all of these things they must do without slowing legitimate traffic, including more than $20 billion of imports and exports each year. that is in arizona alone. what can the government do to help small border communities plan and execute improvements to the infrastructure leading to and improving ports of entry? what will if any does the government have in expediting on the mexican side of the border? >> i think clearly we have to and partnership with our

counterparts in mexico have that discussion so we can actually be able to integrate our resources. when i was surgeon general, i spent a lot of time working internationally on our international preparedness plan. it really is about striking a balance between both. the border becomes an issue because of national security, but is also a thoroughfare to commerce that you point out. if we look at the blue and green uniforms, we have to find a balance. this is a portal for commerce as well as keeping ourselves healthy and safe and secure. as we look at the amount of people coming across, which is the net decrease in this state, including the vitriolic expressions of some people who had alienated people who do not want to come here anymore, we need more help on the border. we need to use technology more so we can move trucks and people back and forth. it is a federal opportunity.

the border is a federal responsibility. we cannot go along the in this piecemeal, and a fashion with a broken immigration program and not have comprehensive reform. comprehensive reform is about economics, making the border more secure, it is about facilitating the goods and people on a regular basis so they can work here and go home. we all profit from that. the federal government has an important role. >> we have gratefully better infrastructure over the past couple of years. the mariposa entry has seen an increase of half a billion dollars. we are having trouble getting appropriate staffing for the ports. that has been stressful for those of us and congress. we have not been able to get a

staffing model to tell us how much money we need to authorize and appropriate for the sports. -- for these ports. in the last go around, i passed an amendment in the house to dock the secretary's office a token amount to come up with a staffing model because we have been begging them to tell us what we need to appropriate to appropriately staffed the ports. it is about $7 million that comes to our state from people crossing from mexico in spending money just a in retail shops. the produce industry is about a $20 billion industry that comes mostly through nogales. it is important for the state that we do not just have enough and green uniforms, but the blue uniforms to make sure the ports are adequately staffed.

>> congressman flake and i are in agreement on staffing. i feel that we have to enhance our use of higher technology so we can increase the movement back and forth. i want to go back to comprehensive immigration reform. part of the burden we have on the side is the apprehension and incarceration of people who did not get deported. without comprehensive immigration reform, we're still going to have an economic burden. we will have impeachment's going back and forth across the border. this is about stopping the problem that has been perpetuated by congress failing to act. >> we have to make sure we get these appropriately staffed. comprehensive immigration reform is desperately needed. first, we have to ensure the tucson sector looks more like the yuma sector. there has been wonderful cooperation with local law

enforcement and the federal government in making this border here, the 88 miles of this sector secure. we have to do the same in tucson. and we can move on to all of the thorny issues that are needed there including guest worker plans and making sure we have access to labor. >> i appreciate you both sticking to the clock closely. go. >> proposition 120 calls to change the constitution and declares state sovereignty. if proposition 120 does pass and federal and state courts upheld the constitutionality, what do you plan to do to ensure the state is reaping the financial benefits of acquiring the land without compromising the environment? >> i have not studied this carefully or this proposal, but i am skeptical about the outlook. other states have talked about doing this kind of thing to

having more influence over the federal lands. i think it is require more than a proposition at the state level. we need better corporation between the state and the federal government to manage the federal lands that we have. right now we have wonderful national parks and intrastate, but we have a backlog in terms of maintenance. we have the largest ponderosa stand in the world, but not if we keep having these fires. we have to make sure we have a rational policy with regard to mining interests as well. we do not have that now. we do not have the federal government allowing us to do a simple land transfer to allow resolution copper to expand and

to create more than 3000 jobs. these kinds of things need cooperation between the federal government and the state. we have not had that. >> we are talking proposition 120, but it does have implications for the management of public lands. >>but let's not forget, we are the united states of america. it is silly to talk about partially seceding from the union. that does not make any sense to drop out because you disagree with somebody. our strength is the agglomeration of 50 states. we're not going to regulate dust, obviously. the things the congressman brought up is important. we need cooperation, but that is the problem we have of congress today. there is no cooperation. all we do is bicker and fight and point fingers at each other. it is is about time that the

public speaks up. again, i will go back to the fact that 90% of the public is disheartened by how they have been represented. we have to start solving these problems. they are not beyond our reach. the challenge is really to get congress to cooperate and stop the bickering on both sides. >> thank you. part of reining in federal agencies and working with the federal government cooperatively has to start with the senate passing a budget. i cannot over emphasize the importance of that. most people look at the fiscal aspects. those are important. the real effect is without a senate budget, the house and senate do not go through regular order and we are not able to work -- we are able to cooperate across the aisle. when we pass amendments, we know that the senate will not pick them up because they have not passed a budget and will just do one bill at the end of the year with everything thrown

in. that has to stop. >> i will go back to what i said. congress is the inherent problem here. the congressman went the other side as if all good solutions only come from one party. both sides got it wrong whether in health-care or anything else. the congressman chooses to blame the other side. there is much more we can do cooperatively. the congressman has taken positions that are ideologically driven and attached himself to congressman aiken. he has been a proponent of redefining rape as legitimate rate. these are things we need to be talking about. health care for women, our veterans, and our seniors. >> i think the congressman to that. >> i am willing to work with the other side and i challenge my own party when needed.

when we had the earmark problem for years, i went to the house floor and challenged my own party more than anybody because my own party was in charge. they were not doing the right thing. i was removed from one of my committees for punishment for what they called bad behavior. that was standing up to my own party on these issues. i do work with the other side. the other side has to be willing to pass a budget. that is the problem. we in the house are passing budgets and the senate is not. >> the farm bill sets conservation and forest tree policy. the last farm bill expired in september. while food stamps, commodity support will continue to receive funding, there is no support for the lower profile programs that drive innovation,

create jobs, and support the next generation of farmers critical to rural areas such as yuma county. if elected, would you consider a new farm bill a priority? what changes to the legislation would elected advocate? >> when i am elected, it will me. farm bill is. i recognize how it is a broken congress. they forget we have a big agricultural community here that desperately needs to support to be able to do its job. having the supports in place, having an updated farm bill that addresses the issue but also a farm bill that addresses health. the farm bill is tied to health as well. sometimes, we are the ones

contributing to the problem because of a policy. we have to look at that very critically and ssay, how do we ensure there is an infrastructure of opportunity here for the agricultural community? how do we ensure trade and trade balances are dealt with? [no audio] >> we need to redo the farm bill and with that will give certainty ahead. it needs to be changed and revamped considerably. for a community like this that farms mostly fresh vegetables, you get very little from the farm bill. let me tell you how out of whack it is right now, when the last farm bill was authorized, some said the we are subsidizing cotton is wrong. we cannot do that. the brazilians will sue us. they will win.

they can impose tariffs and everything else. guess what? they did. now, instead of changing the way we subsidized cotton farmers, we are paying $150 million a year to brazil to subsidize there, and so we will not have to change the way we provide subsidies here. that is wrong. that is out of whack. so is a program of direct subsidies and direct payment where we give farmers money whether they grow crops or not. that is out of whack, and a great filly that seems to be changing. i am proud to have worked for years to try to get rid of the ethanol subsidies that we have. $6 billion of a tax credit for something that is not working and is actually a detriment to the environment as well. that has gone now, and that is a good thing. >> as i said in my remarks and

the congressman expanded, i think we are in agreement that much is to be done with reforming the farm bill and ensuring it is contemporary and thought and nature and how it supports the farmers in our area. the challenge is, we have a broken congress. why was this not done? we have been kicking the can down the road for years. each party blames the other person. this is not that difficult to deal with. we know the issues, we know the issues about tariffs and subsidies, we have to have reasonable people sit down and solve the problems. that is the politics killing us now. party politics is not letting us of the problems. >> congress is certainly dysfunctional. the figures say not only 90 -- 90% said congress is not only during a good job, i would like to meet the 10% who think congress is doing a good job.

i have a thing to tell them. a senate that has not passed a budget in 1200 days is dysfunctional. it has to change. it is not enough to say that we need to work together. we do, but you have to have specifics. you have to have knowledge of how the programs work in order to sit down with the other side and actually come to a rational agreement. >> we have reached the final question. it will be directed to congressman flake. >> we have covered several issues that are relevant to rural areas in arizona. if you are elected to the senate, which of the issues would you be able to tell rural arizonans that you championed for them if he were to run for reelection in 2013? >> first, i mentioned our problem with forest health. we have worked over the past several years on the initiative.

this allows us to have industry in the forest on a commercial basis that helps us then the forest where needed that will save the forests from environmental disaster when another fire comes. we just let out the first contract. a group called pioneer will move deeper into the forest, not just to run the communities. that is something that is desperately needed that we have done. if the epa is successful, if the obama administration is successful at shutting down the navajo generating station, that will be devastating for the state. that is something we are fighting. the epa said the other day they are not just looking at njf, they are looking at coronado and apache as well. i had a letter and had every

member sign it to tell the epa to slow down. let's have some public comment and some more hearings. we are working on those issues, and we have to continue to. you have to be able to work with the other side on the issues. >> would you repeat the question? >> several issues are relevant to rural arizonans. if you are to win the election, which would you say that you have championed for them if you run for reelection? >> first and foremost, jobs and the economy. we are desperate here. we have a 30% unemployment rate. there is a lot can do that we have mentioned already. create an environment that is conducive to attracting business here. it includes tax reform. closing the loopholes of the top. helping small businesses and keeping taxes low for arizona families.

it also includes the immigration reform. this is an economic issue as well. well below that the border as an economic issue as well and national security, we have to enhance, we improve security. we have to be able to inspire small and large businesses to come here because it is a wonderful place to live. we have to create an environment through tax credits and give people opportunities to come here. there are plenty of people who would put capital at risk if they felt this was a secure environment, if they felt the schools were better than they are. it is about moving a family here. i think that is most important to arizona. we get our fiscal house in order. we have jobs for everybody. we change the climate we have. you cannot do that without comprehensive tax reform and

comprehensive changes along the border that includes securing the border and being much more innovative with visas, permits, pathways to citizenship, and the dreamers. >> with regard to jobs and the economy, what we need is a change from the current course that this administration and this senate has put us on. it is a course that has higher taxes, more regulation. assuming we can redistribute the same pie we have rather than growing the pie. we need a change, particularly in the rural arizona. we are disproportionately affected when the federal government over regulates, in particular with public lands. we have to have somebody willing to go back to washington and advocate and stand firm on these issues. that is what i plan to do. >> the question of overregulation is one we have heard several times today, and clearly the epa in trying to

regulate dust does not make sense. what we have learned is one size does not fit all. arizona has unique needs and regulatory opportunities. it goes back to congress. congress gives the authority to the epa to regulate. blaming the epa because congress failed is disingenuous to me. the epa cannot work without authorization from the federal government. we have to put that in check so it does not impede the economy whether call or anything else let us they are trying to regulate. >> we have gone through all the questions. we have reached the closing statement. you have 90 seconds. >> thank you. i appreciate the opportunity to be here today. i will state the obvious. i am not a politician. i am not running to keep a party in power or looking for a new career. i know the collective future depends on a reasonable republicans and democrats to act

as a statesman in great civility and solve our problems. we have not seen compromise for a while. i am running to restore trust in government to the american people. to ensure every kid can obtain their american dream as i did. i want to thank you for the opportunity to be here today. i ask for your support and but so i can have the privilege to represent as the next senator from arizona. >> i was glad to talk about arizona issues here today. i am a fifth generation arizonan, raised in rural arizona. i know what communities struggle with when the federal government is overbearing. that has to change. the course that we are on right now, we need to work together desperately. the problem is, the congress cannot unless we have a senate that functions.

when the senate does not pass the budget again, it is not letting the congress regulate the epa to tell them what they can and cannot regulate. we have to have a change in course. it is not enough to say you agree with your opponent, you have to have a position on the issues and advocate for them. go to washington standing for something. if you do not stand for something, you will fall for anything that harry reid puts on your lap. that is what we have had lately in washington. a budget is not passed, both sides cannot work together. my history has been reaching across the aisle, fighting my own party when needed. making sure that we compromise when it is needed. barry goldwater once said politics is nothing more than public business. sometimes you make the best of a mixed bargain. we know that is needed. we have to have people with the temperament and ability to do so. i ask for your vote. i will value it, and i will

never forget where i came from. >> that wraps up the rural issues debate from the campus here in yuma, arizona. thank you for being so respectful. that wraps it up. have a good day. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> we have a workforce problem because our immigration system is broken and their visa program is broken and it takes hours to come back and forth. these problems create an impediment to commerce. we have to provide a workforce that can move back and forth easily. we can add to the typical of the -- because of the impediments that are there by not having an

effective immigration policy. that becomes an economic issue as well. >> some of the issues have to do with the issue that was raised here in regard to be near the border, seasonal work that comes on and being especially susceptible to national trends on the comes to unemployment and the economy. we need things like a commuter plan that will make it easier for labor to come across in the daytime and no back at night. that is not allowed in our system. yuma, we have to avoid the sequestration that is looming at the end of the year that will hurt our military readiness. for an area that relies on the defense industry, it would be devastating. >> watch more despite -- debates online anytime and throughout the day saturday on c-span starting at 10:00 a.m. eastern. two more debates tonight on

c-span2. olympia snowe is retiring after three terms. charlie somers is the republican nominee. cynthia dill is the democrat challenger. and then a debate from the 24 congressional districts. debating the democrat who held the seat until 2010 when she defeated him by fewer than 700 votes. it has been called one of the tenor nastiest house races. that is tonight at 9:00 on c- span2. we're going to take you now to the national press club and rodney erickson is being introduced by the press club president. >> i would ask each of you to stand up as your name is announced.

from your right, associated press, time magazine, cat powers, penn state students and a guest of our speaker, al jazeera and penn state alumnus. the penn state university and a guest of our speaker. alison fitzgerald, speaker committee chair and freelanced journalist. i'm going to skip our speaker for a moment. committee member who organized a luncheon and is a penn state alumnus. cathy, department of economic, sociology and education professor, the penn state university and a test of our speaker.

jennifer, time warner cable. john, philadelphia inquirer. thank you for joining us today. [applause] penn state university is known as happy valley. it is a picture-perfect college town nestled in the majestic hills of central pennsylvania. an enormously popular university, it has the largest alumni association in the country. things were anything but happy when rodney erickson assumed the presidency last november. the school was reeling from a child sex abuse scandal involving jerry sandusky. the coverage of the scandal was nonstop. the school's revered football coach, joe paterno, had just

been fired. president graham spanier forced to step down. both men were accused with covering up the scandal to protect penn state's reputation. this was the mass rodney erickson inherited. it is slowly being cleaned up. sandusky is in jail, probably for the rest of his life. the football program has been severely sanctioned by the ncaa but has a new and popular culture has brought stability to the program. the university was fined $60 million and is still likely on the hook for millions more as victims of sandusky file civil suits. a geography professor by trade, doctor erickson has been at penn state since 1977. he has been chairman of the geography department and served as executive vice president and provost of the university. he graduated from the university of minnesota and obtain a ph.d.

in geography from the university of washington. a native of wisconsin, he is a 17th president of penn state and plans to step down in 2014. no doubt much of his time will be dealing with the fallout from the scandal and restoring penn state's reputation. please join me in welcoming rodney erickson to the national press club. [applause] >> good afternoon and thank you for your kind introduction. as well as your flexibility rescheduling this event, giving -- given the weather challenges. i am honored to be here and i appreciate your interest in penn state in higher education. a special welcome to all of the penn staters here along with

those covering education all issues. again, thank you for joining us and bringing along the penn state cookies. according to google news, there are over 45,000 stories about penn state and sandusky. you have written them, you have read them, and i imagine that most of you have formed an opinion at about penn state and our actions over the last year. beyond the headlines, there is another reality, one that exists for penn state's students and over 550,000 living alumni. it is a world of teaching and service, it is a world within $800 million research program, hundreds of degrees, 24 campuses, an online

violation. they were organized and carried

out by penn staters. students continued to respond to the crisis was still doing the things students have already is -- always love to do, study and learn, participate in club's activities, make friends, and look forward to the future, including a football team whose performance on and off the field has made us proud. as a minister does, we tried to balance the need to move ahead with the need to reflect on and correct what brought us to the crisis in the first place. the trustees began by asking the former fbi director to lead an investigation, which yielded 119 recommendations on how to enhance our internal policies and practices. we have already implemented more than one-third of these

recommendations and many more are nearing completion. we remain committed to this progress because we believe it is making us a better, stronger university. we are committed to the fight against child abuse. central to this is the newly established center for the protection of children, based at the hershey children's hospital. and our ongoing partnership with the pennsylvania coalition against rape. we completed a conference and child sexual abuse. this forum brought together leaders and experts from law enforcement, a pediatric medicine, prevention research, an education. we formed the penn state network for child protection and well- being, comprised of 35 faculty members with interdisciplinary expertise. the aim is to accelerate the pace of discovery by linking research and practice and to

build the network with additional researchers, practitioners, and teachers. the director of the social science institute and one of the organizers of the network is here with us today. susan, can you please be so recognized? -- please stand and be recognized? we also talked about ethics. it is wanting to know the policies, it is another thing to create a culture where every employee wants to do the right thing, the first time, every time. through training and awareness, we're trying to help people understand the how, when, where, and why of reporting. i assure you that penn state takes this seriously. it is not a glib promises. we have stepped up our efforts in compliance. like most universities, penn state has dozens of

professionals. they are responsible for insuring research funds are appropriately used. they monitor our reporting and conformity to federal laws and they administer many more regulations related to the health, welfare, and safety of those on our campuses. what we have discovered, however, despite our staffing, there are gaps in the system and we lack the central compliance office or these can be coordinated. we have hired the first full- time compliance coordinator to ensure penn state's overall compliance. with his new position, our goal is to ensure that penn state meets the requirements set forth by federal law and the u.s. department of education, but to become a leader in campus security and compliance.

another example of the -- is the athletics integrity agreement, with oversight by senator george mitchell. this should put the question of athletic and credit -- integrity to rest even as we implement changes. there is a great deal that is right about athletics. our student athletes graduate above their peers nationwide. this year, they earned an 88% graduate success rate compared to 80% for all division one schools. the football team's rate is 91%. this spans all sports teams, academic majors, and ethnicity. african-american student athletes and a record 90%, which is 25 points higher than the national average. other universities are watching penn state so they can strengthen their policies,

mitigate risk at their institutions, and make their campus safer. states from california to florida have introduced legislation to make it clear that child abuse reporting is not only a moral duty, it is the law. this is tremendous progress. policies tighten, governance revisited, and institutions made safer. our work continues. that brings us to today. on the brink of the one-year anniversary, civil lawsuits, perjury trials, and we can expect more fallout to come. over the last year, we have learned much about ourselves, our many cultures, our values and vision. we're still working some -- through some difficult issues but the question remains, where do we go from here? the answer can be found it too -- by returning to penn state's mission, research and service.

our bottom line is delivering an outstanding education to students. they are our top priority. our students are a top priority. and they are doing great things. for example, and this year are journalism students captured the national championship and the william randolph hearst program. engineering students took top honors in another competition. others are racing to get their vehicle to the moon and the google lunar competition. meteorology students won the national weather forecasting challenge. more than 3400 pence state and need your love -- penn state alumni were tracking the weather. in addition, we welcomed one of the largest and most accomplished classes in our history, after receiving a

record 123,000 applications for admission. these define who we are and where we are going. we need to support those students and faculty members because they depend on us. the people of the commonwealth depend -- depend on us for economic development and competitiveness. our nation depends on us for research and training for the next generation of leaders. allow me to put a few faces on the penn state community. cat and will our leaders working to fight pediatric cancer through the largest student on philanthropy in the world. -- student-run philanthropy in the world.

we brought along dvds of the documentary, "why we dance," for all of you. it is an incredible story. thank you, will and cat. [applause] will kathy please stand? kathy is a professor of agricultural and extension education consumer issues. in addition to a full-time teaching agenda, she runs a volunteer service to help income eligible people get their taxes done for free. last year, the program completed nearly 700 tax returns and save to the elderly working families and students on hundred $33,000. the total economic impact was nearly $1 million. thank you, cathy. i want to introduce doctor

robert paulson, could you please stand? they're inspiring collaboration discovered what could be a promising treatment for leukemia. in tests, the compound targeted and killed leukemia stem sales without relapsed. their team, including undergraduates and graduate students, is now working to move this compound into clinical trials as soon as possible. thank you. they are leading us into the future. they are the people i work for every day. they are the reason i am here today. they are just a few of the people who will not allow anything to stop them from changing our world for the better. with that in mind, i want to spend a few minutes looking ahead because we are facing a crisis in higher education as

perhaps the worst effort in our nation's history. our young people from working families, people like cat, will, and laura have depended on access to affordable community colleges. they are now at risk of losing that access. throughout the nation, state governments are cutting back on the funding that helps keep tuition affordable and the threats -- the cuts threaten the system, excuse me, a public education that began with abraham lincoln 150 years ago. a report by the national science board found that state support for public universities fell 20% between 2002 and 2010. this shortfall has put public research university is in peril.

the declining investment in universities has made this a lost decade for funding. it has happened all universities have increased enrollment by 320,000 students. this has caused many to begin to the declining investmentquestioc education and the implications for society. this is not a chicken little warning. as a university president, i am aware we need to adapt to today's economic realities. to be sure, state legislatures and governors have tough choices. their ability to provide government services has decreased of the need has increased. we know the difficulty of asking americans to pay higher taxes to subsidize public university tuition to enable lower and middle-income families to afford to send their children to college. but we must address the current reality our public universities

are charging tuitions that in state students find out of their reach. we can and must do a better job of reducing cost and improving education. further belt-tightening must occur on university campuses everywhere. every member of the university community shares that responsibility. we know this and we're turning over every stone to find savings and efficiencies while improving learning outcomes. this year, we had the lowest increase in 45 years. we have cut programs and consolidated functions. but you cannot to do 21st century science in laps left over from the days of sputnik for before. as the ceo and psychologist has said, if we study what is near the average, we will remain near the average -- merely average,

we will remain merely average. last year traveled to china and visited several universities. the national investment in these universities, they are research facilities, it is something to behold. over the last 30 years, china has had a 58 fold increase in spending on education and social investments. according to a report from the center for american progress, by 2030, china will have more than 200 million college graduates, which is more than the entire u.s. work force. in five years, india will be producing five times as many college graduates as united states. these are the facts that drive the decisions we must make as we position penn state to succeed in the future. part of that planning will require getting out and staying in front of the information

technology revolution, which has been among the most significant drivers of change in the last 15-20 years. it has also been like a runaway train. one response to the higher education crisis has been increased appeals from legislators and business leaders for higher education to increase online education. the hope is more students will receive college degrees and at less cost. but appropriately, the application of technology can improve learning higher educatio outcomes and to decrease the cost of delivering that education. so far, big savings have proven elusive. nonetheless, massive online courses are testing the market. dozens of universities, including mit, harvard, and stanford offer these classes prompting headlines like "

college may never be the same." it could be a wild ride. good ideas take time and research. penn state operates a world campus with nearly 12,000 students enrolled in dozens of online programs. our model has been honored as the top online program for 2012. it too continues to revolve. we must prepare penn state for the next-generation of leadership. i announced will be retiring by june 2014 and the board of trustees is about to begin the search for the next president. it is incumbent upon us to aid the groundwork for my successor and and we look forward to an invigorating process with many outstanding candidates. penn state continues to move forward and embraced the challenges, not only those that have come from the events of the past year, but those have been

part of the higher education landscape, a research university and yes, a university that continues to believe that great academics and athletics cannot only coexist, but can be mutually reinforce. i hope you can better understand why i am proud to be president of our university. it is because of our students, faculty, staff, and hundreds of thousands of penn state alumni and friends. our difficulties are not over. i assure you that penn state's best days are still ahead. again, thank you for the opportunity to share these thoughts with you. thank you. [applause] >> penn state officials, including graham spanier, were

aware of unconcealed and jerry sandusky's abuse. you worked with the former president for 60 years. do you believe he was aware of and concealed the abuse of children? >> i am not going to comment on that because it is an ongoing investigation and is the subject of continuing litigation. obviously, all of us at penn state have been deeply hurt and moved by everything that has transpired. yesterday was no exception. we have to trust the courts to adjudicate these matters and allow our legal process to run its course. >> the penn state board of

trustees have said that tim and gary schultz will get their due process. why was president spanier not given the same consideration? >> in november of last year, the board made leadership changes. their rationale for those changes had been that president spanier had not fulfilled his leadership obligations in subsequent meetings with the media. the indicated that was primarily around the issues of not keeping the board informed about developments that had occurred over a long period of time. as well as making statements that were not in concert with

the board's wishes in early november. >> where are the penn state meeting minutes from november 9, 2011 and why are the only man is that have not been publicly released even after requests and a legal requirement to do so? >> i was not there, obviously, so i cannot answer that with completeness. i have been told that there are now minutes that were taken at the meeting. -- no minutes that were taken at the meeting. >> what is the overlap and that of the trusties employees and donors and why were the conflicts of interest not identified? >> we may be able to get to that information that i certainly do not have that. i was never involved in any way with the second mile, in any of

their fund raisers or any of their official activities. i do not have a knowledge, a working of knowledge of who would have been back-and-forth with respect to service. >> there have been contradictory quotations from members of your board of trustees as to the purpose of the investigation and subsequent report. can you explain how the scope of work was outlined and the real purpose of his investigation? >> the judge was given a broad mandate to look out the sandusky situation,>> there have to try n what had happened, what had gone wrong. beyond that, to make recommendations on how the

university could improve its policies, practices, and operations. as i indicated in my remarks, the judge identified 119 recommendations. many of these i am sure were suggested by the four hundred individuals that his team interviewed over the course of several months. we have focused as an administration on putting as many of those recommendations, the idea is to put them all into place as quickly as possible. the board has responded very quickly to the recommendations and has taken a number of actions since last november, including changing of the board leadership, revising the committee structure, creating six committees that are

responsive to the current functions and needs of the university. there is a tremendous amount of work that is going on. i have appointed three senior leaders to implement the recommendations of the freeh report. we continue to make progress with the goal of having all the recommendations completed by the year of calendar 2013. >> a follow-up question, all meetings are recorded? why was the november meeting an exception? >> again, i was not there. i have no knowledge of that. >> have you asked? >> plenty of other people have asked. i was simply told, i asked and told there were no minutes. >> did you ask why? >> yes, the actions that were

taken were the subject of that board meeting and again, i cannot respond to questions i was not there or do not have information about. >> have you addressed the concerns of alumni that felt that penn state giving in to the ncaa sanctions feeds into the storyline it had a culture where football was put above all else? , i cannot respond to>> first of alt accepting the decree was the most difficult question, the most difficult decision i have had to make an 40 years of a professional career. i have laid out the reasons in public why i made those decisions. the alternative, which was a

multiple years of the death penalty, i simply felt it was too devastating for the university, the community, and i thought that even though the sanctions were unprecedented, and crippling in many ways, it was the better alternative and also allow us to move forward. as a university. so i made that decision and i stand by it. all,>> did you find the retiret package for jerry sandusky that gave him access to penn state? >> i did not. the only role i played was as provost. the president awards or chooses not to award emeritus status. in 1999 when gary sandusky was awarded emeritus status, the

policy was nothing more than a title. the concerns that i expressed about that in any now that was produced in the freeh report was only concerned with the precedent that might set of someone who was at the assistant professor rank who would be given emeritus status. but i played no role in any of the kinds of matters related to what mr. sandusky was entitled to as an emeritus member of the faculty and staff. i have no role in that ward soever nor did i see the document. -- whatsoever nor did i see the document. >> after the investigation was completed by the center, county da and jerry sandusky was not

charged, what should penn state have done differently? >> clearly there should have been additional follow up. we know that. that is why we have done so much for the course of the last year to put the kinds of policies into place that we have. we have secured facilities. we have changed the ways in which retired faculty and staff have access to our facilities. we have implemented a background checking for our own tackle teen staff and people who are volunteers who are coming onto campus for many reasons. we have strengthened our mandatory reporting laws, our procedures related to the cleary act and our investigative

services, we have strength and all of those processes and procedures that in the future will make it unlikely this sort of thing could happen again. >> in light of the transparency and have promised, will you be releasing a copy of the contract that authorized the freeh group to do the investigation? >> that is a decision for the board. that is something that should be directed toward the chair of the board. >> four trustees were named for having knowledge of the grand jury investigation dating back to spring of 2011 and doing nothing about it. only one of them has so far resigned. why are the others still holding their positions? >> again, that would be a question best directed to them.

i would have to say that the board has made very significant changes over the course of the past year. i mentioned many of the changes they have made to their structure. i would also say that the oversight of the board has increased dramatically. there is new leadership and i have regular contact on a daily basis with the leadership of our board. other members of our board feel empowered to reach into the ranks of my senior staff to request information, raise issues, it is a different kind of oversight environment that i think will serve the university. >> many of the pitfalls of the previous administration were due to poor communication in canada

-- and accountability. how how the freeh recommendations and proved that communication and what crosses this have been instilled to ensure they are aware of what each is doing? >> i addressed much of that in my last response. it has been a year of much more frequent meetings, enhanced interactions, the board is fully aware and well briefed of any major issues that are taking place at the university. i would also say that one of the objectives in my administration has been to create more interaction among my senior leadership team so that whenever issues come before the university, we are discussing

them in the broader group of 18 members to make up part of my president's counsel. >> the report concluded -- concluded that graham spanier and jerry sandusky covered it up to protect the football program. do you think it is fair and accurate? >> that is a question that is best directed to louis freeh and the legal process that is going on is continuing and the investigation is continuing. it will hopefully lead to some conclusions with respect to that question. >> did the university consult with legal counsel to determine how accepting the freeh conclusion might expose the university to greater liability in civil suits?

>> the university certainly thought about that and of course the freeh report was commissioned by the board of trustees. the board of trustees accepted that report. i would say that does not necessarily mean that members of the board of trustees agree with every aspect of the report. but we certainly agree with the recommendations of the report and are moving ahead very swiftly to implement the recommendations. >> who suggested the youth -- use of the death penalty as appropriate handed down from the ncaa? >> mark emert. >> what could have been uncovered in an investigation that would have netted a worse result?

>> i do not know what kinds of other issues there may have been. but i cannot imagine a worse outcome and the death sentence, the death penalty. in multiple years of that. you have to understand that the death penalty would have not only erased a tremendous source of revenue that helps to support all of our athletic programs, but we would have had years of continuing cost given all the contracts and all the commitments we have related to football. the loss of television revenue would be very substantial as well. community are absolutely huge in

a small community like ours. certainly the sanctions we accepted, unprecedented and severe as they were, still allowed us to continue to play. i have to say how proud i am of our football players. these young men have stuck with us. stayed% of them have with coach o'brien and the staff. they have played their hearts out during the fall. i believe they will continue to. they have acted like the true champions they are. i do not care sanctions we accepted, unprecedented and severe as they were, still allowed us to continue to play. what their record is. they are champions as far as i'm concerned. they reflect how we will get through this process. we will come out stronger in the

end. >> to propose the final version of the sanctions? -- who proposed the final version of the sanctions? >> we had little we were able to negotiate in terms of the ncaa sanctions. we were not in a negotiating position. the ncaa had made that very clear to us. >> did you brief the trusties about the negotiations with mark emmert? >> i brought the board into the loop early on that week and kept them informed through the process, including sunday night are champions asat the latest,n to paper to sign it. >> what stroke of the legacy of joe paterno play in the future?

is there a scenario in which it is restored? >> this is certainly an issue that has great importance for the university community. joe paterno was a larger-than- life figure for much of his 61 years at penn state. it certainly left an important legacy for the university. i certainly in making decisions i did, i thought it was most appropriate we leave the paternal name on the library, given the contributions to education that coach paterno and his family had made over the years. i think that is a fitting tribute to have that name beyond the library. as to how the university would

entertain other ideas, i think that is something that we will have to give some time to. there are a lot of differing opinions about this. i hope we will be able to address it with a sense of unity and reflection. >> how do you think alumnae have reacted to the steps the university has taken to repair the reputation of their alma mater? >> there are a lot of different fonts out there. -- thoughts out there. it has been difficult to move the positive forward when we have had what seems like a continuing stream of bad news that has come out over the

course of the last year. but we are moving forward with the help of individuals such as i introduced you today. we need to continue to do that. we need to talk about the wonderful, tremendously positive things that are happening day in and day out. because our mission has not changed one iota over the last year. we are still about teaching, research, and service. we are still the great institution we were a year ago. we are still a place that corporate america likes to come to hire graduates. all of these things are there and all of them are in place. we cannot forget that even as we deal with some of the issues that continue to arise.

>> what was the reaction on campus yesterday as to graham spanier charges? >> i had relatively few opportunities to interact with individuals during the day. i am sure that there was emotion, and there was a lot of concern. doctor spanier was very well regarded among the student body and certainly among the faculty. so i think we will have a better opportunity to assess that over the next few days and weeks ahead. >> given the charges, are you being investigated? >> not that i am aware of.

>> how is settlement negotiation going and why has the university not been forthcoming about how much it is paying the settlement negotiators? >> ken and mike rosen were brought on as intermediaries. they do not represent the university. they do not represent victims. they are there to try to in gage in a discussion and hopefully develop a process that both the university, our insurance carriers, and the plaintiffs can get together around. ideally we would like to settle all of the cases, if it were possible, but even some number of them, if we could settle them without taking the victims through a litigation process. that would be preferable for

everyone, i believe. they will continue to try to move this process forward over the next few weeks, the next few months. opaline it will help us bring some resolution to the matter -- hopefully it will help us bring some resolution to the matter. >> what is the status of the university's fight with one of its insurers? >> the issue there is really about whether they are going to provide coverage. let me give you some background. like other organizations of our size and scope, we have multiple stacks of coverage. the layer from -- that you are referring to is the first layer

in coverage rehab had been maintained for about 60 years. none of the subsequent coverage is dependent upon what happens with that player. >> what would be the response if spanier is found not guilty of failing to report child abuse? isn't that what the charges are based on? >> we will have to wait and see how all of this turns out. i am not going to speculate on those kinds of what if situations. >> we have a couple more minutes. i have a few announcements to make. before we get to our last question, i would like to remind you of our upcoming lunch in on november 12. we have the lead singer of the who discussing the team and young adult cancer program. on november 16, the chief of

naval operations will be speaking. >> was it your aim to effectively have an uninterrupted, ongoing loan program to assist operations in the u.s.? there was a time when there was no long program. u.s.

my goal is to have that happen. >> how about a round of applause for speaker? [applause] please check out our website. thank you we are adjourned.

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will have that live at 20 5:00 p.m. eastern. at its underway tonight at 6:00. 1.3 million nearly but so far. 24% republican in ohio. 24% republican in ohio.